


Pay the Asking Price

by CycloneRachel



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Multi, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Season 2 Rewrite, Ships to be decided - Freeform, basically if they appeared in season 2 you can expect them to appear in this fic, but mostly it's friendship all around, no mon-el, some surprise characters to come, with the obvious exceptions of pod boy and his parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2020-01-06 13:48:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 78,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18389669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CycloneRachel/pseuds/CycloneRachel
Summary: Or, Kara opens a Kryptonian pod, and takes its passenger in, helping him adjust to life on Earth.But this time, said passenger doesn't look Kryptonian at all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so I was thinking about what things would've been like if Jesse had been available/was cast in season 2? and then somehow this happened.
> 
> I'm not sure how long this is going to be, or how much I'm going to end up changing, but I hope people like it!

Kara knew, regardless of who or what she found, that her life would change once she opened the pod.

Change even more than it had in the past year- because after becoming Supergirl, and learning to defend her city, she’d just stopped her first alien invasion. She’d managed to keep Myriad from killing almost everyone and neutralized Non, while J’onn had taken care of Indigo. She’d launched Fort Rozz back into space where it belonged, even risking her own life… and after almost dying, she figured she deserved a little bit of a break. She needed time to slow down, to process what she’d gone through and make sense of it all.

But after the party she and her family had thrown, of course there was something to disrupt it once more, and in this case it was another pod.

Another Kryptonian pod, to be specific, although when she did indeed open it and get a good look at the person inside, she knew its passenger was anything but Kryptonian.

“Oh my god.” She said, looking down at the unconscious Coluan.

J’onn landed a moment later, following her gaze and taking a step back once his eyes landed on what Kara was looking at.

“This… complicates things.” He said.

“Yeah, he couldn’t have landed at a worse time.” Kara agreed, remembering Indigo being locked up in pieces at the old DEO base, so she wouldn’t be put back together. “But we still have to help him, don’t we?”

“Yes.” J’onn said. “He may be more of a threat to us alone- at least, once he wakes up, he’ll know he isn’t, and if he’s anything like Indigo he won’t kill us first.”

“He might not be anything like her, we don’t know.” Kara answered. “But I guess that can wait until he wakes up.”

J’onn nodded, and Kara lifted the alien into her arms. She hardly felt the weight, but still handled him carefully, looking down at the symbol on his head and hoping that her friends and family would give him a chance.

After all, who knew what could happen if someone else found him?

“Follow me.” J’onn said, and she did, without question.  
~  
After casually breezing through the whole _Oh hey, there’s a DEO building in the middle of the city that we never told you about_ talk (which stung even more when she learned Alex knew about it, but it would be fine, she was okay with it, she’d live), Kara was more than ready to see the DEO’s new guest, the man who fell to Earth.

He was still sleeping, hooked up to monitors and currently lacking a shirt after his other one- black, with three silver dots in an upside-down triangle- was taken off in favor of placing the electrodes for the monitors. Winn was already in the room by the time Kara and Alex arrived, J’onn soon following them.

“Well, at least we don’t have to figure out where he’s from.” Kara started, pacing around him. 

“Yeah, you’re telling me.” Winn said, rubbing his neck. “That much is very clear.”

“But why would he have arrived here in a Kryptonian pod?” Kara answered. “There’s no way…”

“Okay, you may know what kind of alien he is, but maybe elaborate for the audience at home?” Winn joked. “All I know is, as soon as he wakes up I’m not letting him get anywhere near this.”  
He holds up his tablet, before pulling it close to his chest and crossing his arms over it protectively. “I just got this thing, I’m not about to risk it being hacked by some-“

“Hey, hey, we don’t even know if he is a Brainiac.” Alex said.

“That’s right, Indigo said that symbol signified the Coluans- her people, Winn.” Kara answered.

“Duly noted.”

“So he could be anyone.”

“Yeah. But, all we know right now is that he’s comatose, but his vitals are stable, and his breathing is normal. And I’m going to be running more tests on him until he wakes up.”

“Good work, Agent Danvers.” J’onn said. “Keep monitoring his condition, he still could be dangerous.”

Kara wanted to sigh- but then again, she knew he was right.

“So what do you suggest we do? Lock him up until we know for sure?”

“No.” Kara said immediately.

“You don’t have the authority to make that call.”

“Yeah, but I found him, and who knows what he’s actually like?” Kara answered. “He could be lonely, or… I don’t know, scared, like me, and regardless of the planet he’s from he deserves to be treated like our guest for now. Okay?”

Alex and J’onn looked at her for a long while, then back to the unconscious man, before relenting when they looked at Kara again.

“Very well.”

“Alright. But, sir-“ Alex said, focusing on J’onn. “I would request that Winn help with the investigation. We need someone to analyze the pod’s telemetry, and Winn does read Kryptonian.”

“I also read Coluan!” Winn pointed out. “And write it, actually. Although for the ship itself, reading Kryptonian is more relevant. But hey, maybe if he wakes up and can’t speak English, I could communicate with him for you?”

“We’ll talk about that when we get there.” J’onn answered. “But if you want to prove your worth, Mr. Schott, find out something my team of highly-trained alien experts can’t.”

“Challenge accepted.”

“Let’s go.” J’onn said, ignoring Winn’s finger guns and the sudden disappointed look on his face. Alex and Winn following him out- with Winn extending a hand toward Kara as he did.

“We’ll figure it out, Kara, I promise.” He said, as Alex and Kara walked out together, though Kara couldn’t help but take one more look at the Coluan, and hope he would wake up soon.

~  
“I just invited Superman to visit our mystery guest.” Kara answered. “Fair warning, he might be…”  
Kara coughed, turning to her cousin.

“Just, you know. This may surprise you.”

“Understood.” Clark said, as he followed J’onn. Alex and Kara joined them in the room, just soon enough to see the shock on Clark’s face.

“He landed on Earth last night, in a Kryptonian pod.” Kara explained as Clark looked down at him. “We don’t know who he is.”

Clark could hardly stop the smile that was growing on his face, as he turned to her and answered, “I do.”

“Wait, you- you _what_?”

The brakes on Kara’s train of thought came to a screeching halt, as she stared at her cousin, who had pulled up a chair beside the Coluan and was currently gently brushing his silvery-white hair back, whispering in his ear.

“I don’t think he can hear you.”

“Yeah, I know, but… there’s always a possibility.” He answered. “He’ll be okay. Hopefully before I leave, he’ll be awake and I can say hello to him.”

“You haven’t even told us who he is!”

“You used a quantum scan to determine his age, right?”

Kara sighed.

“First thing we did.”

“And did you X-ray vision him for foreign objects, like a cybernetic data core?”

“Clark…”

“Just making sure.”

“Fine, yes. He has a data core- makes perfect sense, no problems there. Seems from the looks of things to be working correctly. But that doesn’t answer what I was saying, so will you tell me-“

“Okay!” Winn said, strolling in. “So, my handy-dandy translator just decrypted the pod’s data log. But…”

“But what?”

“Part of the data is missing.” He answered, holding up his tablet with a visual aid on it. “The data starts after he passes through some kind of disruption… but that can’t be all of it.”

“It probably isn’t.” Clark answered. “But the data might’ve been destroyed while passing through the disruption- because of it, would be my guess, those things are so unpredictable- or he additionally encrypted it to keep it secret, which wouldn’t surprise me either.”

“Okay, when he wakes up I’ll have to ask him about it. But that’s… very specific.” Winn said, looking at him suspiciously. “Too specific. How would you know?”

“Well, just to get things out in the open- we were friends.”

“What?” Kara asked. “You, and a-“

“A Brainiac? Yes.” Clark said. “But I didn’t know what that really meant at the time. How do I explain… you’ve been in the Fortress of Solitude, right?”

“Yes…”

“Did you see a ring there? All gold, with an L on it?”

“Yeah, but…”

“That ring comes from the future. The 30th century, to be precise- although the last time I visited, it was the 31st. Those who wear it are part of a superhero team, called the Legion of Super-Heroes- and, not to give many more spoilers, but they were inspired by you and me.”

“What?”

“I know, but I’ve seen our statues- they’re pretty impressive.”

“Oh my god, you went to the future?”

Kara and Winn wore matching expressions of shock, Kara’s saying _Why didn’t you ever tell me?_ And Winn’s, _Can you take me there?_

Then, a second later: “Oh my god, we have statues?”

Clark laughed, smiling at his cousin and imagining her all-gold, striking a heroic pose in the museum he’d visited.

“Yeah, I was surprised too. But when I was first starting out as Superman- you know, just casual saving lives, hadn’t even put on the tights and underwear yet- the Legion came and found me, in Smallville.” Clark answered. “They took me to their headquarters, and I trained with them. Learned from them, as they’d learned from me. It was… one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my life, and I’ll never forget it. Or…”

He looked down at the man again.

“Or him.”

_Especially not him._

“Although, he’s a bit older than when I last saw him. Probably around your age, Kara.”

“So what’s his name?”

“Querl Dox.” Clark said, pronouncing it with care, the way he’d first heard it. “Brainiac 5- or, as his friends call him, Brainy. Which I did, because…”

“Right.” Kara answered.

“The others doubted me, at first. I didn’t exactly look like the Superman they so admired. But Brainy never stopped believing in me. We saved each other more times than I can count, and I know the whole Legion really helped me onto the path to becoming Superman, but Brainy… he’s my hero. And a good person. You can trust that he won’t hurt you, I promise.”

“Well, of course we can take your word for it.” Kara said.

“I should hope so.” Clark said. “Take care of him.”

“We will.”

“And if you have any questions, please ask.”

Winn looked down at Querl, before meeting Clark’s eyes again, nervously.

“Yeah. We will.” He echoed.

“Alright then, I’ll leave him in your capable hands.” Clark said. “When he wakes up, let me know. And tell him if he wants to visit, my apartment window is always unlocked.”

“Will do.”

~

Kara sat by his bedside, after everything.

It was late at night, and Clark had already gone back to Metropolis, was already missing her. She was already missing him, too, but he eventually stopped texting, and she put her phone away to watch Querl as he slept.

“I know what it’s like to be a stranger on this planet.” She said. She knew he was still sleeping, and couldn’t hear her, but she remembered Clark whispering to him while he’d been there, and thought back to when she’d been in her own pod, so many years ago. She would’ve been comforted, hypothetically, to learn someone cared about her enough to talk to her while she was asleep. In the midst of all that silence… whether she would’ve been able to hear it or not, the gesture still would’ve been appreciated.

So she keeps talking to him.

“Stranger to this time period, even.” She corrected. “Although I guess that’s more relevant for you than for me. But that doesn’t change anything. So when you wake up, I’ll be here for you. So you never know what it’s like to be alone.”

Suddenly, activity spiked on the monitors, and Querl sat up, breathing heavily.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey, hey.” Kara said, keeping her hands close to him but not touching him yet. “Relax- just breathe, okay? You’re safe.”

“Of course I am.” He agreed. “As long as you are here… wait.”

“What?”

“You’re real, aren’t you?”

“Of course I’m real.” Kara said. “This is all real.”

“You aren’t a hallucination, or a simulation constructed by my mind to keep it occupied while I travel?”

“No.” she said, and extended a hand to him. He took it, examining it completely, before handing it back to her. His skin was warmer than she thought it would be, as she touched him, and thankfully unlike his relative he didn’t seem to have any gloves that looked like they would shred her face. “I’m real, and so are you.”

“Right, I didn’t need confirmation on that.” He answered. “What am I doing here? Why-“

“You crashed.” Kara said. “In your pod, I mean. You landed not very far from here, and we… we took you in.”

Querl looked up at her in horror.

“I’m not under arrest, am I?”

“No, no, you’re not in trouble. You’re among friends.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Well, would you believe that one of your friends was here a couple days ago?” Kara asked. “He wanted to be here when you woke up, but it took too long. So, sorry. But you can always call him.”  
She offered the phone to him, and he stared at her like she was offering him a brick.

“Call?”

“Oh, right. Phones are probably obsolete in the 31st century. Um. You still have communication devices in your time, right?”

“We do.”

“Okay, this is our version. You can talk to Clark like this, and maybe when he isn’t busy he’ll even come visit us.”

Querl started smiling when she mentioned Clark, and Kara started to relax.

“That would be nice.” He answered. “So, I suppose I am to remain here until my pod is repaired?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.” Kara said. “But I mean, if you want to stay longer…”

“I am not sure that is possible, or recommendable given how much my remaining here may impact the timeline.” Querl said. “However, as long as I stay in this… what is it called in this time?”

“The DEO.”

“Right. These coordinates are actually the location of our headquarters, in my own time.”

“Cool. Cool cool cool.” Kara answered. “So, as long as you stay here, and don’t leave, you won’t screw up time? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes.” He said. “But we are getting ahead of ourselves, are we not?”

“We are.” Kara confirmed. “Until you can fix your ship, you might as well get comfortable outside of the medbay. Can you stand?”

Querl tried, pushing himself off of the table, but his legs began shaking soon enough, and Kara took his arm.

“Alright then. Where should we start?”

“How about… introductions?” Kara started. “I’m not sure how much you know-“

“Much information was lost in the year 2455- however, what was preserved does include information about you and your cousin, as well as who you worked with. I am generally familiar with the names of your friends- J’onn J’onzz, Winslow Schott, junior, James Olsen, Lena Luthor, and of course your sister, Alex Danvers- but it would not hurt at all to learn specifics. Or to see the rest of this building.”

Kara smiled.

“I think we’ll run into some of my friends during the tour.” She answered. “And of course I can tell you anything you want about my first year as Supergirl, if that info doesn’t exist anymore.”

Querl nodded, and Kara took his hand. He was aware of her presence beside him, he even felt the warmth from the crook of her elbow connecting with his, but when she pulled away in favor of joining his hand with hers, his heart beat faster, and for the first time he became truly conscious that this was his reality. That she was really there, and holding his hand, in the 21st century. They were in the Department of Extra-Normal Operations building, together, and with her help he would somehow repair his ship and find his way home.

His whole experience that far had been terribly disorienting, but… she steadied him, literally and figuratively, as she led him down the hall.

Everything was going to be okay, with her there. He was safe, and would be cared for.

He only hoped she would forgive him if he didn’t tell her the true reason why he was there. It wasn’t a lie, so much, as an omission- and he wasn’t certain as to how long it would take for them to find him. By the time they did, he might even have gotten back by then, and the Legion would defend him.

If he did not, however, he had Supergirl. He had her friends and family, and her hope.

He wasn’t sure how strong that could be, in the face of his fear, but with her there as a beacon, projecting hope and togetherness and love, passing those feelings onto him as effortlessly as holding hands, it was so easy to believe. _She_ was.

And until he could figure out certainties, until they were present in his life once more, that was enough.

“So this is one of our labs, you’ll probably be working here often.” Kara said. “I’m sure Alex won’t mind some help. I mean, if you can, with your whole “can’t interfere with the timeline” thing…”

“I will do what I can.” Querl answered. “I only wish to be helpful, and in the event of my not being able to return to my home…”

“Well, you always have one here.” Kara said. “But of course, we do want to get you home. Speaking of which, do you want to see your room? It’s not much, but it’s definitely more comfortable than that cot you were lying on before you woke up.”

“I do not sleep very often.” Querl said. “Just as a warning. However, I welcome the opportunity.”

“Okay then, downstairs we go.”

Querl followed her, picking up more information as she continued talking- specifically, that the time he’d arrived was April 2016 (days after Indigo was pronounced dead- he didn’t know whether or not they had kept her body, he wasn’t about to ask), Kara had been Supergirl for about six months, she had faced her own aunt and uncle in addition to many other villains, in such a short amount of time.

“And Fort Rozz?” he asked. “I read that it was a prison on Krypton, before it was detached from the planet and put into the Phantom Zone.”

“Yeah… my mother, Alura, took me there once when I was little. I got scared and didn’t want to go in… but she held my hand and we went through, even though my eyes were closed most of the time. But that was before she sentenced my aunt there, and when I got to Earth…”

“You found that its prisoners were scattered.” Querl said. “Most of whom are…”

“Held at the DEO, either the desert base I started off at or this new one.” Kara finished. “Aside from the ones who are dead, or who we couldn’t find- but if they caused trouble, I would know.”

“Certainly.” Brainy answered. “And the prison itself?”

“Launched into orbit. I, um, actually did that- I know I could’ve died, but I thought it was worth it… and then Alex saved me, and everything was okay.”

“Well, cheers to Alex, then.”

“Yeah.”

He itched with the desire to ask: _Where is Indigo? Are you sure she won’t be able to put herself back together? Are you familiar with Brainiac? Are you afraid of me, because I look like him as well as Indigo?_

_Why are you being so kind to me?_

But he knew that questioning her may have caused her to change her mind about him, so he pushed those thoughts aside and focused on her tour. She explained where things were in the building, asked sometimes what they were in the future, specifically pointed out labs he could work in, and then finally…

“And this is your room!” she said.

She hadn’t been lying, when she’d mentioned it wasn’t much. There was a row of lockers along the wall, and the beds in the room themselves were separated by what looked like metal grates, with lamps above them and gray bedding. There were small tables at the heads of each of them, with similarly simple amenities distributed there as well.

However, as simple as everything was, Querl was used to it. He’d grown up not having much, this in comparison (to say nothing of his new company) was positively luxurious.

“Thank you.” He said, doing his best to emanate warmth from his voice as he turned to Kara.

“You’re welcome!” Kara answered, with a bright smile. “Um… we recovered your pod. Was there anything you needed in there?”

“Given that I will require it in order to repair it and get it flying again, I should hope so.” He said.

Kara laughed, even though he didn’t think what he’d said was at all funny.

“I meant luggage, Brainy.” She said. “Clothes?”

“I only have my uniforms.” He answered. “This one, and the Legion uniform that is in my pod. Other than that, nothing.”

Kara’s face fell, and not for the first time he wondered what he’d said wrong, to upset her.

“Well, you can always have a DEO uniform, while you’re here.” Kara answered. “And whenever you’re ready, maybe I can take you shopping?”

“I cannot say no to that, on a conceptual level. In reality, however… I have to.”

Kara still looked upset, but more curious, so he elaborated immediately.

“As you can see, there is no conceivable way in which I can ‘pass’, as you might say, for a human. And given what information I have about this century on Earth and humans’ attitudes towards aliens… I can conclude that they would treat me with much hostility. So my exile in your DEO is still to keep me safe, as much as it is to keep others safe from me.”

She placed a gentle hand on his arm, as she spoke to him.

“I’m sorry.” She answered. “I’m sure people would like you if they got the chance to know you-“

“Not when I look like Indigo. Or Brainiac 1.”

Kara sighed, aching to hug him.

“So do you have access to anything that could make you look different?” she asked.

“I did… in the 31st century. But I did not bring such a device- called an image inducer, in my time, or sometimes an ID mask by some people- to this one. I had to leave so quickly, even essential devices were forgotten about.”

“Well…” Kara answered, looking him up and down. Querl, meanwhile, was similarly examining her, wishing he could know what she was thinking. What exactly she thought of him, whether her expression was pity or indignation on his behalf.

“What do you mean, ‘well’?”

“I was just… the DEO has access to some technology that might not exactly be what you’re used to in the future, but it could still mimic that. And I also have some friends who could work on something like what you described- well, one friend, and someone who could be my friend… basically, I’ll see what I can do.”

Brainy smiled at her, a real smile, and Kara’s heart melted just a little bit.

“Thank you, again.” He said. “I… could not be more grateful to be here. Even in this room.”

“If we get something more comfortable for you, you’ll be the first to know, but this is all we have right now.” Kara answered. “And I’m glad we found you, too.”

She looked like she was going to say more, but her phone beeped, and she pulled it out of her pocket.

“Sorry, gotta go.” She said.

“You need to go to the restroom?” Brainy asked. “They’re back that way, you showed me yourself-“

“No, no, I meant, I have to go interview someone. It’s part of my job.”

“Right, yes- at this time, you are a reporter.”

“For the foreseeable future, yeah.” Kara said, ignoring the unspoken _for now_ in his statement. She couldn’t imagine not wanting to be a reporter, or not being one at all. But with someone like him there, giving her a different perspective…

Never mind that. She was going to live like she was going to be a reporter forever, and never mind the possible future.

“In that case, I wish you farewell. And good luck.”

“Thanks, I think I’m gonna need it. I just met Lena, I’m still not sure how much she’d be willing to tell me…”

“Lena?” Brainy stared at her, voice sounding almost choked up with surprise. “Lena _Luthor_?”

“Yeah, that’s her.” Kara said. “Why?”

“I cannot say. Just… if at all possible, I would be honored to meet her in person.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Kara answered, giving him a little salute as she left. “I’m sure Alex and Winn will be more than happy to help you get settled in. I’ll see you tonight, okay? Maybe we can watch a movie?”

“Yes!” Brainy said, confident she could hear him. Although he didn’t know what a “movie” was, she sounded enthused about it, so some of that naturally influenced him to feel the same. “That sounds like a good plan.”

Kara smiled at him once more, causing his heart to beat faster, then she was out of sight.

Her smile energized him as he walked back from his room to the DEO command center, even as he was greeted with confusion and a little hostility from the agents there.

If nothing else, at least Kara, as well as her inner circle, trusted him.

And with time, perhaps these other agents would come to the same conclusion- hopefully, before the worst-case scenario happened and tore his new world apart.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gosh it's been too long!
> 
> anyway, so this is the first part of the chapter based on 2x03? sorry I couldn't fit it all in. But it's here, and I hope you all enjoy!

Winn didn’t mean to find Brainiac 5 sleeping.

He wasn’t even supposed to be in the DEO that late at night, except that he’d just finished moving what he needed from his apartment into his official DEO quarters, and he was taking the opportunity to explore a little bit.

 _This is real,_ he thought, as he walked by conference rooms, prison cells, labs. _I’m a part of this now, really._

He’d gotten a taste of this a couple months ago, at a different base of operations. But he didn’t remember it being this big, or official-looking, and certainly not with this many windows or this good of a view from the balcony.

And it was way better than a desk job. (Even though he was working at a desk- but this felt different.) Especially the desk job he'd had before coming here, located in a building that seemed so far away from the DEO, even though he'd probably be able to see it out his window if he looked enough.

(For a while, he had thought of calling his mother, updating her on what was going on in his life while his father was in prison, letting her know he’d gotten the job of a lifetime. But he probably wasn’t supposed to call anyone from the outside- and besides, his mom hadn’t checked up on him. Why should he do the same?)

J’onn J’onzz and Alex Danvers were only slightly less scary than Cat Grant, of course, and the temperature wasn’t as warm as he would’ve liked in his room- never mind the other agents- and at the end of the day it felt like he’d given his brain a full workout (way harder than anything he’d seen secret agents do in movies), but he wouldn’t go back on this decision if he was paid to do so.

Or at least he wouldn’t have, until the new Brainiac arrived.

He knew he was supposed to be nice. He honestly wanted to, especially after Superman (which, honestly, he still couldn’t get over) visited the DEO and told Winn and the others that Brainiac 5 had been his friend, and was a good person. And he’d noticed Kara showing him around, seen the two of them starting to get along as well.

If he couldn’t trust Superman and Supergirl about this, who could he trust at all?

At the same time, though, he still remembered Indigo, and her hand around his throat when she’d arrived in Kara’s apartment, how she’d nearly made him black out while trying to upload the malware into her system- and reading after the fact about what she’d done through Myriad. And though he could obviously differentiate between the two, the symbol was still the same. They could still be connected, even if this new Brainiac didn’t know it.

He didn’t think anyone would blame him for being cautious. Not necessarily afraid. Just cautious.

Nothing wrong with that.

It might’ve been a little bit hypocritical, judging someone for their evil family members, but he hadn’t even really seen him awake yet. There was still time for them to get to know each other, and maybe Brainiac 5 wanted to be his friend too.

Wishful thinking, of course. But it was what Kara would’ve suggested, and he wanted to keep that in mind.

But as much as he was considering maybe at least talking to Brainiac 5, all of his current thought process left him when he stopped by the room he was staying in. And instead of responding to his semi-cheerful “Hey, Brainy. Um, can I call you Brainy?” with a greeting in return, like a normal person, Brainiac 5 punched him, making him see stars and sending him falling to the cold floor, and got up out of bed suddenly.

Brainiac 5 leaving the room was the last thing he saw before the world went dark for Winn.  
~  
“Kara?”

Lena’s voice jarred her out of how much she was thinking, as she stared down at the new alien detection device Lena had presented to her. She knew she couldn’t reveal herself, obviously. But how could she possibly get out of this, without Lena becoming suspicious?

She didn’t have very much context, for the Luthors- and, consequently, with Lena’s legacy- outside of what she’d grown up hearing, so she was doing her best only to judge her on what she saw from her actions and words. But she was too loyal to her family, to Clark, to not be a little bit worried about what might happen if she did let Lena know she was an alien, and that information got to other people far less amicable than her.

“Yeah, sorry, I was just… admiring the design.” Kara said. “It’s a very nice prototype.”

Lena gave her a wide smile, still holding it out.

“Thank you!” she said. “And that means you want to see how it works, right?”

“Yeah, sure.” Kara answered, hoping Lena didn’t notice how much she was fidgeting, trying to stall her. “Um, since this is the first device you’re creating at L-Corp, shouldn’t it be something… something that might separate you more from your family?”

“What do you mean?”

Kara didn’t like how suddenly Lena’s expression had changed, but she had to say her piece. She was going to be making a difference as a reporter, after all, in addition to Supergirl, and if she couldn’t start with the young Luthor who (admittedly) was in a similar position to her own last year, what kind of a hero was she?

“Well, think about what an alien might think of this, if they’re checked as being an alien just to, I don’t know, get on a plane or buy pizzas or something. Or something more serious- the point is that it would open them up to violence, from people who aren’t as open-minded as the President is. People could get hurt because they’re exposed, and I don’t want to tell you how to run your company-“

“You kind of are, right now.”

“-But this could be sending the wrong message.” Kara finished. “Even if aliens are still a minority in this country, I don’t see a reason why their safety shouldn’t be considered, just as much as that of humans. W- uh, they, probably just want to belong, and a lot of them don’t. If you could help them, give them maybe a device that would disguise them… wouldn’t that distinguish you as the antithesis of Lex?”

“Perhaps, but I don’t see aliens buying anything made by a Luthor anyway.” Lena said. “Even if the name on the label is different. And this disguise idea… it could do the opposite of what you’re suggesting too, it could cause humans to see aliens as dishonest, and stir up more distrust.”

“Maybe, but it would also allow aliens to make a choice.” Kara answered. “They could be ‘out’, showing the world who they really are, or if they really needed to for whatever reason, looking human could also be an option. If it were dangerous to look alien, for them, shouldn’t it be better to let them appear human, even if that image is false?”

Lena shifted in posture, looking Kara in the eyes and holding out the device to her once more.

“Just try my device, Ms. Danvers.” She said. “Then you can talk to me about improvements.”

Kara nodded, making sure not to activate it immediately.

“I’m a businesswoman.” Lena continued, “L-Corp is in the business of making money. And this device is going to make us a fortune.”

Lena rounded her desk and sat down at it, giving Kara time to secretly render the device inoperable.

“But unlike my brother, I’m gonna do it for the good of the world. So!”

This time, Kara held the device, testing it as Lena had demonstrated. She held her breath, as the light slowly turned green.

“See? It works perfectly!” Lena proclaimed.

“Yeah, sure. Um, great job!”

“Thank you.” Lena answered. “So, about your idea…”

“Right, that. I have to finish this article.” Kara said. “Bye, Lena!”

“Goodbye, Kara.” She said, watching Kara leave so abruptly. Hoping, even though Kara was a new reporter, that her take on what she was doing was better than she was expecting.

~  
To be fair, Querl would have knocked out any agent who went to check up on him.

There were no hard feelings in the gesture. He was only trying to make sure he wouldn’t be followed, once he’d figured a way out of the DEO, in search of any place that would help him find what he needed to find.

(Unsurprisingly, in this century, there weren’t many of those places- and though he considered asking the DEO themselves, he also knew that doing so without providing an explanation for what he was searching for (which was also necessary) would make him even more suspicious, would cause them to write him off as yet another treacherous Brainiac. Even for those who appeared to trust him, all of that good will would have been lost.

And Winslow Schott, junior, in particular hadn’t seemed to trust him at all. So nothing was lost from rendering him unconscious especially, once he’d registered that it was Winn he’d assaulted.

It wasn’t a serious injury. Winn would be fine, and Querl had reached his goal. He didn’t see anything wrong with that, and once he had the information he needed, he could even return to the DEO and apologize if necessary. They might not even notice what he was doing until he returned.

But this was his priority at the moment, and that meant all thoughts of Winn, as well as the humans and aliens currently looking after him in this century were relegated to another thought track, pushed away from the one he was focusing on.

_Let them look for me, they might as well. It is not as though they will find me anyway, or that they will remember what they may find me doing._

~  
“Agent Schott?”

Winn opened his eyes to see Alex (he still couldn’t believe she was Kara’s sister, let alone working with him- caring enough to notice he’d been gone- but that was for thinking about another time) shaking him awake, concern on her face as she helped him stand up.

“You can call me Winn, you know.” He said. “Or basically anything except Winslow, or Toyman Junior.”

“Okay.” Alex said. “And I’m sorry you got knocked out. But we need you to find Brainiac 5, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know he’s missing.” Winn answered, as the two of them stumbled toward Winn’s computer chair. “I should know.”

He pointed to the bruise on his jaw, and Alex winced.

“I promise I’ll go grab you some ice for that after you help me.” She said, and that was incentive enough. Soon, he was pulling up a map, and got the alien’s tracker online- but once he’d told Alex where the alien was, she was already gone, taking a whole team with her.

_So much for being listened to for once._

~  
“He’s gone, Supergirl.” Alex said, once Kara flew in after she’d turned in her article. “We lost him. We thought he was at one of the warehouses in the arts district, but we just found his medical bracelet-“

_And an infuriatingly pretty detective, but we’re not gonna think about her…_

“Which he took off. So he could be anywhere.”

“Well, that’s not great.” Kara answered. 

“I know, I know what you’re going to say. I should’ve waited for you.”

“No, I was gonna say, you should’ve waited for me, _dummy_.” Kara corrected, as she walked with her sister. “What if he’d actually been there, what would you have done? You saw how difficult Indigo was to contain, and he probably has similar powers…”

“Well, Winn would’ve helped with that.”

“If you had wanted to _kill_ him!”

“No, of course not. But I have him working on non-lethal versions of his virus- just meant to disable, not shut down for good.”

“Still doesn’t look great for our image, to him.” Kara said. “Clark trusts him, so do I. We should go talk to him, see what he wants.”

“By all means, go ahead.” Alex answered. “But if you need me…”

“I know, you’ve got my back. Thanks.” Kara said. “I just feel like it won’t be necessary this time.”

“Even though he knocked out Winn?”

Kara sighed.

“Okay, you might have a point.” She said. “But we’ll talk first.”

“Alright. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though.”

“Alex…”

Kara walked away from her sister right on time- just then, Alex’s phone started to ring.

“Danvers.”

 _“Wanna see how us local cops deal with aliens?”_ came Maggie’s voice.

Alex looked around, even though the agents around her were too busy to hear her conversation.

“Where should I meet you?”


	4. Chapter 4

Alex wasn’t sure what to make of Maggie.

For one, their first meeting was punctuated by the detective (rightfully, she had to admit) criticizing how some of the DEO agents were cleaning up her crime scene. That had been fine, especially when she thought the two of them wouldn’t cross paths again so soon. They could handle their own cases, the threats at their own levels, and she wouldn’t have to worry about her again.

But fate had other plans, and apparently they included Maggie showing up while she was investigating where Brainiac 5 had gone, which had led to Maggie figuring out that she wasn’t Secret Service.

_Well, damn, might as well tell me you know my sister is Supergirl._

And now (after Alex had filled her in on who she’d been looking for, because she might as well and he’d be found faster if there were more people looking for him) there was this- meeting her in a decently-lit alley, bantering about motorcycles.

A perfectly normal Monday night, if you were Alex Danvers.

“What are we doing here?”

“I thought I’d buy you a drink.” Maggie said, as Alex followed her.

Maggie knocked three times on the bar’s door.

“Dollywood.” She said, and it opened, as she and Alex stepped in.

“So this is your big hookup?” she asked, after Maggie ordered beers for them. “A dive bar?”

“Things aren’t all they appear, Danvers.” Maggie said, shrugging. “Just look around.”

Alex did, and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary- until she was prompted to look closer, and noticed one of the patrons had a lizard hand.

There were others, too, other aliens sitting around and ordering drinks, and Alex’s own hand reached for her gun- but Maggie pushed it down.

“Easy.” She said. “This is a safe haven.”

Alex nodded and put her gun back in its holster.

~  
“I need some info.” Maggie said, giving Alex the opportunity to process their conversation from earlier- and watch the detective at work. The guy who’d walked up to their table stared at her, but she didn’t seem fazed. “We’re looking for a Coluan. Fresh in town, about five feet eight, white hair, dark eyes.”

“The blue guy with glowy dots on his face?”

“Do you know of any other Coluans in this city?” Alex asked.

“I may have seen someone who fits that description.”

“Get to the good stuff.”

“Alright. He seemed… lost. Confused.”

“Do you know where he is, or not?”

“No. But he was talking about space vectors. Star coordinates, deep space transmissions.”

“Why?”

“He’s trying to send out a signal.” Alex said, automatically.

 _To the future,_ she thought. But Maggie didn’t know that.

And she wasn’t going to know, because Alex was already halfway to the door, not letting Maggie see her leave.

(She bumped into a red-haired woman on the way out, but she hardly slowed Alex down. And Alex only hoped that she wasn’t being followed, as she put her helmet back on and raced back to the DEO)

(She wasn’t thinking about Maggie, or what all she told her about her background- especially not how much she admired her, given what she’d shared. For someone she’d thought was annoying when they’d first met, even though she’d been correct, Alex definitely respected her now, and maybe even liked her.)

(But for the moment, the mission came first, and the runaway Brainiac was her priority.)

(Afterwards… well, that was up for debate.)

~  
“Any response?”

“No.” the man looking over the star maps said, head tilting back in aggravation.

“Very well then, let me see if I can speed up the process.”

The man got out of the chair, and allowed Querl to sit down, as he began to connect with the technology he was facing.

He didn’t get much of a chance to do that, however, as Supergirl grabbed him, and out of self-defense, he shoved her off of him and into the ground.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Kara said, sitting up and catching her breath.

“I would rather not hurt anyone either.” Querl answered. “But this is necessary, so if you’d leave me alone-“

“Not until you tell me what you’re doing.” Kara insisted, pulling herself up.

“You know I cannot.”

He wanted to. He so easily could have, in that moment, and he could’ve gone back to the DEO with her while conscious, and then once J’onn sat him down, Alex and Winn in audience, he could’ve told them everything.

It would have made things easier- except his life had never been easy, and the timeline still came first.

“Then we’re doing this the hard way, I guess.” Kara said, shrugging.

Querl wasn’t completely sure what that meant- nor was he prepared for a one on one battle with Supergirl herself- so as much as he could predict her moves, and as much as he could’ve matched them if he was better equipped, she still overpowered him.

He could imagine what this looked like, to her. He knew she already trusted him, and he was betraying that so soon- but more than anything, however, he wanted to make sure- he knew they probably hadn’t followed him. Through space, or time… but they could find him, at any time. And the last thing he wanted was for her and her friends to be unprepared…

But she wasn’t allowed to know that yet.

She would, though. He just had to figure out how much to tell her, and what he could tell her at this particular time.

“Stay down, Coluan.” She said, an edge in her voice unlike any time he’d previously heard her speak. “Unless you want to end up like your relative.”

He obeyed, and soon, he knew no more- until he woke up in a prison cell, with no Supergirl in sight, and a lot of time on his hands to determine what she could know.

~

“So.” J’onn started, as he, Winn, Kara, and Alex were standing around Winn’s chair. He addressed Kara, as he spoke. “Tell us more about Colu.”

“I… don’t actually know that much.” Kara admitted. “My father never took me there- and for good reason. Since I was little, I’d heard stories about Kandor, one of our major cities, being taken from the planet. Literally, taken- ripped from the surface, put in a bottle, setting Krypton on the path to its slow death. And the one responsible was Brainiac.”

Kara paused, taking a breath, before continuing.

“Years later, I guess Indigo- Brainiac 8- had a similar idea, as her plan was to shut down Krypton’s defense systems, making it vulnerable. She, serving as a supercomputer on our planet, had an easy way to get into them, I guess- which is probably what made her a valuable asset to Astra and Non.”

“I see.”

“Yeah…” Kara finished. “But Brainiac 5 seems more organic than she was, just based on our scans of him. Doesn’t that make him less dangerous?”

“Maybe.” Winn said. “But he can still throw a pretty good punch, and I’m sure given that he’s from the future, he can do a lot more than that.”

“When I was looking for him, he seemed lost and confused.” Alex said. “Regardless of where he comes from, shouldn’t we treat him like any other alien new to Earth?”

“But he isn’t “just any other alien”.” J’onn answered. “He’s related to the most dangerous prisoner sentenced to Fort Rozz. For all we know, he could’ve been responsible for the attack on the president.”

Kara sighed.

“I doubt he would’ve had enough time to plan that.” She said. “He only just woke up, and even when he was out, he didn’t seem interested in going anywhere near the president.”

She turned to her sister, as she continued.

“You said he was trying to send out a signal, right?” she asked. “I saw some star maps where I found him.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Alex said, coming back to the conversation. “So, this might just be him looking for a way home- nothing too suspicious.”

“Well, if he’s contacting home…” Winn started, hands going to his throat. “Please tell me not all Brainiacs have a thing for strangulation.”

“I’m sure they don’t, Winn.” Kara said, trying to calm him down. “Don’t worry. But this is all just guessing. We won’t know anything for sure until we talk to him. Which, by the way, we should really do.”

“But he didn’t talk to you, Kara.” J’onn pointed out. “He might not say anything.”

“Maybe.” Kara said. “I still want to try, though. Clark believed in him, and he seemed nice enough before he broke out- I’m sure he had his reasons for keeping secrets, right? And whatever he was doing with the maps, he had plans for those also?”

“If anyone can find that out, it’s you.” Alex said. “But he might also still keep his secrets, so be ready if that happens too.”

“Alright then.” Kara answered, and before anyone else noticed she had left, she was gone, and when Querl opened his eyes, sitting up in his new cell, there she was.

~

“Better get used to that view.” She said. “You’re gonna be in that cell for a long time.”

Querl simply sat with his arms folded, staring out at her.

Kara didn’t seem fazed, as she adopted a matching stance.

“I don’t know what you’re playing at.” She continued. “I mean, according to Clark, you’re a good person, and a hero? But here, all you’re doing is punching my friends, sneaking out, and trying to bring more Brainiacs to Earth. So, it looks like we have a problem.”

Querl still stayed silent.

“How did you find yourself in a Kryptonian pod?” she asked. “Do you have anything to say for yourself? Anything?”

“…I could use a Kono juice.”

“What?”

“A Kono juice. Do they have those on this planet? It’s my favorite alcoholic beverage- I do not indulge myself in such frequently, but after what I have been through, it seems like a reasonable luxury, however small it may be. Also, you misunderstand, I was not trying to bring my relatives to Earth.”

_Far from it, they may come here of their own accord… but I will have nothing to do with it._

_Or perhaps I will… but if that time comes, it shall be one of my greatest regrets._

“Oh.” Kara said. “Can you… tell me what you were trying to do?”

Querl nodded. “Without giving too much away, I wanted to see if there was a way I could send a line of contact through the place my pod had gone- and contact the Legion.”

“Your friends.” Kara answered. “And Clark’s friends.”

“Indeed.” Querl said. “I… only wanted to let them know I was alive. Send them a distress call, informing them of my location and telling them that I am, for lack of a better phrase, in distress. Of course, I may not know if they receive it, but I figured that I may as well try.”

“If all you wanted to do was send a signal and tell your friends you were marooned, why didn’t you ask us?” Kara asked. “We would’ve helped you.”

“I doubt that.” Querl answered, scoffing. “With the technology you have here-“

Kara sighed.

“I know you’re from the future.” She said. “And I know what we have isn’t up to your standards. Of course it isn’t. But if we didn’t have what you need, we would’ve found you something anyway.”

“Perhaps, but this was…” he hung his head low, refusing to look at her. “I needed to do this myself. Just to make sure nobody else was hurt.”

“By hurting one of our own in the escape process?”

“While I am sorry for that, I was not aiming to permanently incapacitate Agent Schott. And that could have been anyone- but I do intend on apologizing to your friend.”

“Well, I’ll make sure to tell him that after I’m done here.” Kara said. “Got anything else?”

“Only that I am aware what you may think of me now.” Querl answered. “And I am aware that I betrayed you- which I apologize for, as well, so you may not be inclined to give me a second chance. But I want to do better- so if you offer one to me, I will take it.”

Kara watched his face, listened to how regretful he sounded. Thought back to their earlier conversation, and what she’d told him before he woke up.

“You’re not alone here, Brainy.” She said. “Querl, sorry. I said that already, but you know you can talk to any of us. We’re not going to treat you like Indigo, I promise.”

“As long as I do not go behind your backs and try to signal my friends in the future without your knowledge.”

“That’s it.” Kara said. “And you know, I was alone here too, once… but I still found a family, and a home. I want that for you too. It would be really nice, even, if you were a part of that family.”

 _But family doesn’t keep secrets from family,_ Querl thought. _Family does not appear to distrust family. How long will you hold that over my head?_

“Just think about that.” Kara finished, letting Querl be silent, as he lay down on the small mattress in his cell. “I’ll see about getting you that… that Kono juice while you do.”

~  
Of course, it didn’t take long for Kara to be distracted from that goal.

There was a President in danger and her attacker to stop, after all- and Maggie had been kidnapped, which Alex definitely wasn’t happy about.

“I let my guard down, and the President almost died.” Kara admitted to J’onn and Alex. “If I hadn’t been so distracted by what Brainiac 5 was doing…”

“We don’t blame you for being distracted.” J’onn reassured her.

“And besides, I know who the real criminal is.” Alex said. “I can find her.”

Both of them had looked confused, but let her look, and once Kara arrived, fighting the Infernian Alex’d discovered became a little easier- once she and Maggie and Alex were able to take her down together.

And by the time Kara returned to the DEO, smiling as she thought about James taking Snapper down a peg, she’d gone through a little change of perspective.

“What’s going on?” Querl asked, as Kara opened his door.

“You apologized to me, and you’re going to apologize to Winn.” She answered. “And with everything going on, I guess I just forgot… I misjudged you, just because you’re from Colu.”

“I understand.” Querl said. “I could have very well misjudged you, too, based on my planet’s perception of Kryptonians circa the twentieth century… but I do not. Because I knew one, and he was the best and bravest person I’d ever met.”

“Well, now you know two.” Kara answered.

_Hopefully I can live up to him._

“Yes.” Querl answered, smiling. “I do.”

“And I’m… also willing to trust you.” Kara continued. “I know you can’t reveal too much about yourself, or what you’re doing here- and that’s okay. Regardless, whatever it is you end up doing, from now on I’ll support it.”

“Thank you.” Querl said. “Also, you may call me Brainy. But my real name is Querl Dox.”

“And mine’s Kara Zor-El.” Kara said. “Like you, I’m a refugee on this planet.”

“It’s an honor, Kara.” Querl answered. “Hopefully, I will be able to live up to your expectations.”

“I hope so too.” She said. “Welcome to Earth, Querl. I hope your stay here is a good one.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gosh, so this chapter ended up being over twice as long as the others (partially to make up for it having been such a long time since I've written any of this fic)
> 
> but I hope it's worth it!

“So, your pod was knocked into the disruption on accident?”

“Yes!” Querl said, resting the metal bar Alex had been using to test his strength on its supporting beams. “I know it seems unlikely- given that I am a twelfth-level intellect- but I accounted for that possibility, and programmed the pod to land at safe coordinates. I just didn’t anticipate what had hit my pod, or how far in the past the disruption would take me.”

He sat up, and gave them a smile- Kara, J’onn, Winn, and Alex, all standing there (keeping their distance) watching him. Though, Alex noticed, his eyes were most focused on Kara.

 _He feels most comfortable around her, of course._ She thought. _Kara did spend some quality time with him in his cell, it’s only natural._

“And it is a disruption.” Kara confirmed. “Clark mentioned that as a possibility, but we weren’t sure if it was true.”

“Yes, it was.” Querl said. “And it is only fortunate that I landed here. Now.” He continued. “Like I told Kara, I am honored to have met her. And with the permission of all of you…” he ducked his head, before glancing back up at the group, “I will also provide my services at this DEO. As much as I can, which is how I responded when Kara brought up the subject.”

“Understood.” Alex said. “And we appreciate whatever you can do to help us.”

Winn muttered something under his breath, but Kara glared at him, and he shrugged, before muttering something again.

“But also, you do realize we’re still cautious.” J’onn answered.

“I understand. And it will not happen again.”

“Is that a certainty?”

Querl nodded.

“One hundred percent.”

_As close as possible, rather._

“Good. But you’re still on probation. I trust I don’t have to explain to you what that means?”

“That you will not trust me to go anywhere without asking one of you first? I have experience with this practice.” Querl said.

_Although at least you are more forgiving than my other caretakers._

J’onn stayed silent for a moment, before Winn stepped in for him.

“Right. But don’t you worry your big brain, I’m sure there’ll be plenty of excitement around here to keep you busy. And if you’re nice, and don’t hit me again… maybe I can take you somewhere.”

“My brain is the same size as yours.” Querl countered. “The difference is-“

“I get it.” Winn answered, holding up a hand. “Point is, once this headache goes away, I want to be friends. And while you’re here, we can work together.”

“That is acceptable.” Querl said. “Were there any responses from the Legion, to the signal I sent out?”

“Sorry, but no.” Alex said. “Winn or I will let you know if they answer.”

“Yeah.” Winn echoed, though Querl noted he wasn’t looking at him while he spoke. “So, why did you use a Kryptonian pod, again? Didn’t yours and Kara’s planets not get along very well?”

“Their relationship was… fraught. And that is a severe understatement.” Querl said. “However, Kryptonian technology is still in use on Colu- including some spacecraft. This was the pod I had access to, as it was how I first got to Earth in my time.”

“Cool!”

“Indeed, it was.” Querl answered. “But now that it is in a state of disrepair…”

Kara set a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he slowly turned to look at her.

“I know. But I can take a look at it, and see if my own pod has anything that could help?”

“It’s possible. Although I doubt that is the problem… but to know for certain, I would have to find my ship.”

Kara’s shoulders slump, and suddenly she can’t look at him either, but for a reason likely other than Winn’s.

“However…” Querl started, mirroring her gesture. “Repairing my ship may take a long time. And even if it did not, I wouldn’t mind staying longer in this time period. Much of the information about it is lost, it would be an enlightening experience to learn more about it. I can even take what I learn with me, and share it with the rest of the Legion.”

“Right.” Winn said. “Of course you’re gonna remember everything you hear and see while you’re here. What’s next, you downloading the entire Internet, Dalek-style?”

Winn smiled and even forced out a laugh, as though what he’d said was hilarious, even though nobody else seemed to be reacting the same way.

 _Well, they’re about as receptive to that kind of reference as they were the last time,_ he thought. _Which was not at all. Good to know._

“I have the capacity to take in such information, yes.” Querl said. “Although I did not think such an act was entirely necessary at this point. Why? Did you want me to use _your_ computer to do it?”

Winn was stunned into silence, and could only respond with, “No. You don’t need to.”

“Alright then.”

J’onn soon excused himself, apparently for personal reasons (though apparently, according to Alex and Kara as they whispered to one another following his departure, he didn’t do anything personal), and Alex was called away by someone she called “Sawyer”, with Kara joining her a moment afterwards- leaving Winn and Querl in the room alone.

“So!” Winn started. “You wanna punch me again, or did you want to talk for once?”

“I was going to apologize, actually.” Querl said. “But if you didn’t want to hear that…”

“No!” Winn said. “I mean, of course I want to. Let’s just… sit down.”

He gestured at the bench, before realizing that would lead the two of them to sit much closer than he was comfortable with at the moment. With that, he sat on the floor, and Querl joined him, waiting to hear him speak.

“That sounds acceptable.” He said, once the silence had settled over them. “Shall we begin?”

_Do you really want to help me as much as you say you do?_

~  
Querl’s hand came crashing down through the set of stone blocks Winn had set up for him after he’d taken a call from Alex- a test of his strength, even though he thought he’d already proved such.

“We’re gonna need a bigger block!” Winn proclaimed, holding his tablet close (as he always did, which Querl had recently noticed.)

Querl nodded, and with a smile turned to him and said, “Yes. This is… awe and some?”

“No, no, you put those two together. It’s just one word. You’ll be golden.”

“I see.” Querl said. “Awesome.”

Neither of them immediately noticed Alex walking in, but Winn looked up from his tablet to see her there, smile from hearing Querl attempt slang sliding away when she looked at him.

“Anything on our alien perp?”

“Yes, yes, the thorn found in the dead alien’s body is from a Bravaak. Some sort of biological defense mechanism. So yeah, that’s new and terrifying.”

“Any ideas where we can find him?”

“I can get you exact coordinates.” Querl cut in, standing at attention between Winn and Alex. “If you allow me access to the DEO’s systems, of course.”

“Or we can just locate the Bravaak based on how many are registered in the city under the Alien Amnesty Act.” Winn said. He pat Querl’s shoulder, apparently as a consolation. “Maybe next time, buddy.”

 _Are we up to ‘buddy’ level yet? I mean, I don’t know. But I’m gonna roll with it,_ Winn thought. _I mean, at least it’s better than “I don’t hate you too”._

“Okay. So how many are there?”

“Just one.” Winn said. “I got the address, shall I get a strike team to gear up?”

“No, I’m good.” Alex answered. She started walking away, already on her phone.

“Sawyer? It’s Danvers.” She said, before the door closed behind her.

“That’s weird, she usually always needs a strike team.” Winn commented, as Querl watched her leave. “I say “usually” when I only just started working here, but so far, that’s been normal. Whoever this “Sawyer” person is, they’re special.”

“Or the Bravaak is not enough of a threat to warrant more than two people at their address.” Querl said. “I calculate that she is more than capable of taking him down by herself, with her DEO training and level of experience, and her odds only increase if she has someone else with her. _Your_ odds, on the other hand…”

Winn sighed.

“Oh, don’t start.” He said. “Remember, I still want to be friends with you. Don’t make me regret that.”

~  
Querl had been told he wasn’t supposed to leave the DEO. This was acceptable, he understood why the others wouldn’t want him to leave- and he, too, didn’t want to leave without some way of disguising himself. Making sure the public didn’t see another Brainiac so soon after Indigo, and thus preventing a paradox as he wouldn’t be seen in his natural visage by anyone who could find pictures from this century in the 31st century’s National Archives.

So instead, after Winn tried to teach him some more contemporary slang and he only concentrated on him with one of his thought tracks, he decided to wander through the rest of the building.

And as one could easily understand, he paused outside one of the doors once he heard Kara’s voice coming from inside.

“I got my first article published!” she said. Her voice was muffled, but if he stood very close, he could still hear her.

“I am pleased for you, Kara.” Said someone else. He wasn’t sure who that could be, but perhaps if he let himself in, Kara would explain…

But he shouldn’t interrupt her. Not when she was likely having a personal conversation.

“Thanks.” Kara answered. “I have another idea for a new article, but I don’t think my boss is too keen on it… or me, for that matter. Reporting is harder than I thought, and I thought it was gonna be really hard. But I’m trying, so…”

“Remember to always believe in yourself, my daughter.” Said the other woman.

 _Ah. This is Alura Zor-El,_ Querl thought. _One of the survivors of Krypton’s destruction, along with the other inhabitants of Argo City… but she isn’t meant to discover that for another 574 days. How could she…_

“Yup. Thanks for the advice.” Kara said. Querl’s curiosity had gotten the better of him, but once he saw her face he regretted opening the door, as she was more upset even than she had been when she’d fought him.

“Oh.” He said, looking over at her. “I apologize. What is this place?”

Kara still seemed a little distraught, as she answered.

“It’s private.” She said. “Shouldn’t you be testing your abilities with Winn?”

“No, Winn said he figured he knew what I was capable of.” Querl answered, grimacing. “And also that we could… “chillax for five”. I humored him, even though I wasn’t in need of “chillaxing”, and found myself here.”

He looked over at Alura, who he now knew to be a hologram, but he wasn’t about to tell her he’d eavesdropped on her conversation.

“Who is that woman?”

“It’s my mother- she’s not really her, but she’s a hologram of her with her thoughts and knowledge.”

“I see.” Querl said, forming his hands in an inverted triangle. “We had constructs like these on Colu.”

“Colu. Planet located 1.9138 light-years away from Krypton. A race of techno-organic logicians and scientists, whose criminals were used as supercomputers on our world. They are arrogant-“

“Bye, Mom!” Kara spoke up, and the hologram disappeared. She turned to Querl, after it did. “Sorry about that.”

“No, it was… an apt description.” Querl said.

Kara didn’t dispute it, looking at where the hologram had been as she continued.

“Sometimes, I just like to come in here, to tell her about my day.” She said. “I know it’s not really her, but…I… it just makes me feel less…”

“Alone.” Querl supplied.

“Yeah.”

He looked at where the Alura hologram had been.

“I had a hologram of my own mother, that I would talk to.” He said. “She was… quite busy, and left me to be watched over by robotic caretakers while she was at work, and homeschooling me. But talking to her as though she was truly there was comforting.”

_And sometimes I wish I had never seen her in reality._

“And though I created simulations for the Legion, to be used for combat training or-“ he coughed, “Other purposes… I always longed to create one of my parents, after I left my home planet. But I could not, for… multiple reasons. And now, every member of my family, biological and otherwise, is unreachable.”

Kara touched his shoulder, as he gave her a sad smile.

“I know how that feels.” She said. “But at least for now, you have us, right?”

“Indeed I do.” He answered, and her smile was equally as melancholy- but hopeful, a quality he wished he could possess.

“Good.” She said, and paused at the door.

“I’ll see you later, alright? I gotta go, Alex just called.”

“Yes. Take care.”

“Yeah.” She answered, expression now slightly brighter. He grinned back, now that the mood between them had lifted. “You too.”

~

“You’re strong.” Winn said, as Querl punched yet another object for him- this one a metal cylinder- leaving a sizable dent in it. “Not as strong as Kara, of course- and I guess this isn’t too surprising… but it’s good. We can work with this.”

“Work with it how?”

“Well, Clark told us you have a ring that allows you to fly. You do have that with you, right?”

Querl nodded, and pulled it out of his pocket to present it to Winn- though, when Winn went to touch it, he quickly pocketed it again.

“Yes, and it is of my own invention. It is also worth more than this entire _building_.”

Winn stared at him, backing away slowly.

“Alright, got it.” He said. “But my point is, if we can find a way to disguise you, it’s definitely possible that you could keep being a superhero in this century.”

“I… may have something that disguises me already.”

“You do?”

“Yes, I have a device from my own time that does exactly that- I was just making sure it connected to the DEO server. And now that it does, finally, I can leave.”

“Oh, really?” Winn asked. “Show me.”

Querl took out something else, fixing it to his head, and once he pressed it, the device disappeared, and his image shimmered- replaced with that of a human man exactly his height, skin brown instead of blue, and his hair dark instead of bright white.

“Whoa.” Winn said. “So, what do you call that?”

“It’s a personal image inducer.” Querl answered. “Actually invented in this century, believe it or not, but improved by many people between this one and my own. I can tell you how it works- even though you may not be able to understand its intricacies.”

“No, but I do want to borrow it for Halloween.” Winn answered, poking at him, as Querl leaned away from his hand. “Now that you have that, though…”

“No. We are not going outside. I must make a good impression on your compatriots.”

“Me too, but a little fun never hurt anyone. And if I make you a new costume, maybe with a mask, and name you…”

“I have to stay here.” Querl said. “Unless you did mean it when you told me you were going to take me somewhere.”

“Dude, I really did.” Winn answered.

“And I have not hit you yet. So, you did not even have to attempt bribery. We already would have left the DEO.”

“So, what were you saying about first impressions?”

“…I realize that my first impression may have already been ruined.” Querl answered. “However, J’onn and the others overheard our conversation, and knew of your intentions. This should not get us into any trouble. And on the chance that we do, I could always tell them it was your fault.”

“Damn you, Querl Dox.” Winn said, pulling him towards the door. “I’m so weak.”

~

“Okay, one drink.”

Winn held one out to him, as he already had one in his own hand. Querl looked at it questioningly.

“Come on, nobody on Earth refuses a toast. Nobody who’s not underage, at least. Which…”

“I’m not.” Querl said. He took the drink, however reluctantly. “And I wouldn’t want to be _culturally insensitive_.”

“That’s the spirit!” Winn answered. They drank together, and even though it wasn’t quite what Querl was used to (the drinks, or the company) he was beginning to believe that this wouldn’t be as bad as he thought.

(There was always the chance that it could be worse. But on this night, those odds were a bit lower, which still made a difference)

And one drink turned into several, mixed in with several games of darts (wherein, memorably, Winn had nearly aimed at Querl, telling him to “open his mouth”- but Querl realized such in time, and turned Winn back towards the dartboard) and then, finally, Winn falling asleep against the bar window- but he woke up to someone getting hit, and the sound of screaming.

“What is that?” he heard someone yell, and the moment another person said “He looks like the blue robot lady”, with fear in their voice, he knew he had to get up. He pulled himself off the window, and grabbed for Brainy, now sans image inducer, guiding him outside.

“How’re you not-“

“Fully inebriated?” Querl asked. “Simple. I have the superior capability to recover from alcohol libation at incredible speed. Which is advantageous- because, with that and the Legion ring, I can get you home, and return to my own quarters in the DEO. It is not under the ideal circumstances, of course, but… it is not entirely unexpected.”

Winn mumbled something unintelligible, slumping against him, and Querl took the hint- tentatively gathering him in his arms, flying them back to where they belonged.

Maybe another time, Winn would’ve pointed out how much his hands were shaking after the two of them left the bar, and he would’ve had questions as to how old he really was, and how much he could carry, or maybe how he could be super-strong to begin with… but right now, Winn’s mind was too foggy to do or say anything else, and he needed to sleep.

 _I’m lucky you’re here_ , was his last thought, before the world went dark.

~  
Winn was still out of it during work in the morning, holding an ice pack against his head, when Kara was pacing around the table in the command center, ranting.

“…more powerful than fear. Winn?”

“Nothing, I’m not hungover. You’re the one being defensive.”

“Agent Schott?” J’onn said, walking up behind him.

“Sir, yes sir.” Winn answered, dropping the ice pack. “Uh, Brainy’s doing great by the way. He’s here, in the DEO, he’s here. Did you know he can think about up to 12 things at the same time? He calls them “thought tracks.” It’s really cool-“

“It’s absolutely fascinating.” J’onn interrupted. “You know, the DEO received reports this morning of a fight at a bar involving an alien with blue skin and what were described as “lightbulbs” on his face, and someone who wasn’t Supergirl flying through the air, entering this very building.”

“News is amazing these days. Never know what you can find-“

“Apparently, he was seen with, and later carrying, someone around 5 foot 2.”

“I am 5’9!” Winn protested, turning his chair around and looking up at J’onn with indignation. 

“What’s going on?” Alex asked.

“Winn took Brainiac 5 on a jaunt through the city last night. Miraculously, nobody figured out who he really was, or remembered who he was related to.”

“He had an image- an indi- a thing that changed his face.” Winn said. “I didn’t see it turn off, though, so that’s not my fault. And hey, I did say I wanted to take him somewhere!”

“I thought that was hypothetical.” J’onn said. “But you still got lucky. If someone did expose his identity, and put the pieces together between him and Brainiac 8-“

He turned to Kara.

“You should’ve talked to him.”

“ _Me_? How is this my fault?” Kara asked.

J’onn leaned over the table. “Everything we do is under a microscope.” He said. “We work so hard to make humans trust us. All it takes is for one alien to ruin it for all of us…”

“He didn’t ruin anything.” Kara said. “And I’m sure he knows to be careful, he just let his guard down because it was night and Winn was helping him relax. Nothing wrong with that.”

“I say he could still use a reminder.” J’onn answered. “I spoke with M’Gann last night. She might not be receptive, but…”

“Did you use your inside voice?”

J’onn didn’t answer, so Kara continued.

“Okay, clearly, she’s got some issues. But, she’s the last of your kind! She’s alone, you can’t just treat her like some perp in a lineup… and I am not talking about M’Gann anymore.”

Kara walked away, as Alex leaned back against Winn’s desk.

“You look like crap.” She said.

“Thank you, I saw the mirror this morning.”

~  
“It’s not Winn’s fault.” Querl said immediately, as Kara walked in. “He was unconscious when my image inducer was accidentally turned off.”

“Yeah, we know how that happened.” Kara answered. “But seriously, what were you thinking? If you were even thinking, that is.”

Querl was silent, looking down at his hands- that were blue now, as he’d turned the image inducer off once he and Winn were back inside the DEO building.

“…I admit, I do deserve that.” He said.

“Okay, so you know you shouldn’t have been out there.”

“I do.” Querl answered. “However, I was- because I wanted to make up for what I did to him. I clearly reminded him of someone he despised and feared, and because I accidentally hurt him, he was upset with me on both counts. And though he said he wanted to take me somewhere, I wanted to know what his intentions were. How much he truly wanted to help me get accustomed to your time. So once I knew that he truly did want to be my friend- which I found out during our conversation after you left- I decided to go where he wanted to take me. He is an intelligent man, and I believed he would know how to keep the two of us out of trouble.”

“…Right. Yeah, I get that.” Kara said. “If you had gone anywhere else, and you hadn’t let him get drunk.”

“I wasn’t aware that he would get that drunk.” Querl answered. “And I can assure you, this won’t happen again.”

“Yeah, it won’t.”

“I am back under strict probation, then. An effective punishment.” He said, staring down at the floor. “In my time, most people on Earth are aliens- or some combination of alien and human. I am not an unusual sight… but I also know what it is like to be feared.”

He turned to Kara.

“And you do too.”

Kara nodded, and sat down next to him.

“Yeah… not exactly feared, but it took me a little while to get used to my powers.” She said. “I wasn’t used to that- and the Danvers family wasn’t used to me. In junior prom, I stepped on a guy’s foot while I was dancing, and broke three of his toes… not difficult to be afraid of yourself, after that.”

Querl nodded.

“You know, it’s not easy for you to be nice to me.” He said. “Where I’m from, and all.”

“That’s not why I’ve been standoffish.” Kara answered. “And don’t say I haven’t been. My parents gave me so much, and I was so loved. My dad was a scientist, my mom fought for justice. They were… proud, strong people. Good Kryptonians, and even better parents. And that’s the way I want to remember them.”

“Why shouldn’t you?”

“They weren’t perfect.” Kara said. “And no matter how smart they were, or how hard they tried, they couldn’t save us.”

“You never met my parents.” Querl commented. “They weren’t exactly role models.”

“Mine saw the end of the world coming, and didn’t do anything about it.”

 _But they did,_ Querl thought. _They had a plan, and saved some of your people… and I can only hope to be here when you discover that for yourself._

“It’s not your fault.” He said. “It’s not your parents’ fault, it’s not even Krypton’s fault. We shared… well, not much of anything. But that doesn’t matter now. I promise, from now on, that I’ll do as I’m told, and live up to the trust and support you have for me.”

Kara smiled at him, wordlessly, and got up, about to walk out of the medbay.

“Kara?” he asked, catching her attention before she left. “I heard you survived Draaga. I looked into his background, and according to my research, he took a blade to the right leg while fighting on Warworld, which hit a nerve cluster. He’s favored his left ever since.”

“Thank you.”

~  
When Kara next saw Querl, it was after the fight- after M’Gann and J’onn had both survived Roulette’s fight club, and Roulette herself had escaped arrest.

(and after his advice had worked)

And, most importantly, after she’d temporarily gotten herself into her boss’s good graces and earned herself an article, which meant she approached him feeling a bit lighter than usual. Even when she looked at him, seeing the symbol she used to be so afraid of.

“Thanks, again.” She said, in greeting. “For the tip, I mean. I took out Draaga.”

“Yes, I heard.” He answered, raising a hand, as one hand was still on one of the metal cylinders Winn was using for his training. “Congratulations.”

Kara smiled at him. “Thank you.”

“I wanted to show you something.” he said, moving towards her. “My personal image inducer. I reconfigured it for this time period, but with it, I will retain my anonymity should I venture outside the DEO, and- as Winn suggested- I could even use it to continue my work as a superhero, without causing damage to the timeline.”

“Really?”

Querl nodded, activating it, and Kara’s eyes widened as she saw his human form.

“Yes. Is this sufficient?”

“Yeah!” Kara said, a little too enthusiastically. “I mean, of course. It’s more than sufficient. You look- wow. Really good.”

“Good to know.” He answered. “So you approve, of my being a hero in this form?”

“Yeah, and that’s what I wanted to tell you- I asked the DEO to release you into my custody, so I could prove what I said about support. And I want to get to know you. Hero, and otherwise.”

“Who would’ve thought?” Querl said. “A woman from Krypton and a man from Colu, working together.”

“I mean, reverse that and it’s my uncle and your ancestor.”

“I know.” Querl answered. “And hopefully this partnership will not end like theirs did.”

“Right…” Kara trailed off. “Hey. I know everything has been so new for you, so different. It’s been hard to adjust… but Brainy, believe me when I say that you belong in National City. In the here-and-now.”

“In that case…” Querl said, smiling back at her. “I’m glad to be in your hands, Kara.”

“Good. Well, what do you say we go home?”

“Home sounds perfect.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh god this is even longer than the last part, I'm so sorry

When Querl woke up again, it was to the sound of Kara’s voice, and to the overhead lights suddenly illuminating his DEO room.

“It’s your first day at work!” Kara said, excitedly, and yes, he had indeed agreed to work at Catco Worldwide Media, alongside her.

He was in her custody now, after all, and since according to her it was less suspicious if he had a job to go along with his new human identity, he was going to go along with this. As much as he would’ve preferred working for the DEO, an organization with slightly more advanced technology and a place more familiar to him (even though it had been his prison for the twenty-seven days in which he’d spent in this time period), he knew that Kara was correct in her reasoning.

He just hadn’t expected her to wake him up like this.

“Kara, I do have an internal clock.” He said, looking over at her delighted face as she stood in the doorway. “I would have woken myself up. But… thank you, anyway.”

“Well, I’m actually early.” Kara answered. “I wake up a little later most days- or at least I did. But I gave myself even more time today, to help you get ready.”

Querl pulled himself out of bed, covering the T-shirt and shorts he was wearing with the standard-issue DEO pants and hooded jacket.

“Alright. What do I do, for that?”

~

She took him back to her apartment, something he’d expected since she had told him he was being released into her custody, but once he arrived there with her, he was still taken aback.

This apartment was, after all, immortalized- both hers and Alex’s, perfectly preserved in a museum, the significant items (furniture and paintings, mostly, in Kara’s apartment) displayed prominently and given meticulous care. He had memorized its layout, beforehand… but every other time he’d seen it, it was surrounded by other exhibits, being experienced by other people.

Here, now, it was just him and Kara, and when he saw it, he took a step out into the hallway, as though he wasn’t allowed in.

 _It’s real,_ he thought. _She’s real, and I have the privilege of being steps away from her home._

“It’s okay.” She said, a hand on his shoulder as she looked sideways at his dazed expression. “Come on inside, I’m making pancakes.”

He sat down at her table, watching as she made the pancakes, carefully measuring out the ingredients and pouring the batter into the pan she was using. (and, with one of his thought tracks, he memorized what she was doing, so he could later make pancakes of his own to surprise her)

And when the pancakes were set in front of him, in a large stack with no utensils present, he took the only logical path in eating them.

“Do you want syru-“ Kara started, as he picked up the stack with both hands and bit into all of the pancakes.

“I’ve never eaten anything with my hands before.” He said, after putting it down. “But I thought it made sense, for this food. Am I doing it wrong?”

Kara shook her head.

“No, no…” she said, turning back to her cooktop. “I can just make more for myself. You’re fine, I promise. Just finish up quick, we need to pick out an outfit for you.”

“How quickly?”

“As fast as you can.” She said, and as soon as she could say that he started into the pancakes again, hardly coming up for air until he finished all of them.

“Wow.” Kara said. “You eat… a lot.”

“Indeed, thank you.” Querl answered, wiping his plate off with a paper towel before placing it into the sink. “Our food is very different from yours. I think I like yours better, though, much more flavor. What else is there?”

“Well, after this, we can get coffee.” Kara started, putting her own plate there, resting against his. “You’ll need it anyway, to give to some of the people you work with.”

“Very well.” He said as he got up from his chair. “What are these outfits you wanted me to try?”

Kara studied him, once more.

“Well, first, I think one more thing. But you have to stay still…”

Querl gulped, as he sat in the chair with a green towel draped in front of him, but indeed stayed still, as Kara gave him a haircut with her heat vision. She was remarkably precise, and by the time she was gently removing the hair from him, he was all the more grateful.

“Great!” she said, and he smiled, unable to disagree. “Now, let’s see about those clothes.”

And they did see. The first outfit, with a light blue shirt that Querl quite liked, was too tight for him, and the next, with a white shirt checked with green and red, was too long. But the two of them quickly found a balance- a blue and white checkered shirt with brown shoes, black pants, a brown belt, a brown cardigan, and a black and white bowtie.

“How is it?”

Kara gave him a big, beautiful smile, as he walked out of her bedroom, that took his breath away even as he was trying to impress her.

“Yes! It fits!” she said. “That’s perfect. Now you just need glasses.”

“Glasses?” he asked, pulling out the sunglasses Winn had given him after their brief drunken excursion, the ones he’d referred to as a “souvenir”. “Like these?”

“No, no no no no. Real glasses. Like mine.” Kara said, pulling out her personal pair.

 _Lined with lead,_ he thought. _A gift from your adoptive father, to keep your powers in check._

_Although truly, no glasses could ever hide the hero within you, Kara Zor-El. Or for that matter, none could make you less exquisite._

“Well, they’re not real.” Kara corrected. “But they keep it so nobody knows I’m Supergirl.”

“Nobody will mistake me for Supergirl.” Querl said. “But, in case I should decide to be a hero using this face…” He pointed to the one the image inducer gave him, that would go unrecognizable as Brainiac 5. “I should use these to hide my identity even further?”

“Yeah, exactly.” Kara said. “Here.”

She held up the pair, that were sort of circular like hers with the top half of the frames being black and the bottom half clear.

“These will make it so that nobody knows Querl Dox is Quentin.”

“Quentin. Right.”

“Yes. Quentin Richards, Winn got you a birth certificate, social security card, everything you need.”

She handed him the card, as he looked it over and committed its contents to memory.

“I’m familiar with those, we still have them in my time.” Querl said.

“So I guess I don’t need to tell you about your FICO score?”

“…No, I can look that up. But thank you, for putting so much effort into this.”

 _Thank you for helping me be more human,_ he thought. _Though neither of us will completely be human. But this is still acceptable, for now._

Kara smiled at him, placing her hand on his arm.

“It’s no problem, really.” She said. “From one alien who had to adjust to Earth to another. And from what I understand, you had to do it twice.”

“I did, yes.” Querl answered. “Although this time is quite different from the last. But I am grateful, that you got me a job.”

“Of course.” Kara said. “And you’re gonna learn so much about this century working at Catco.”

“I am.” He echoed. “Alright.”

He let her put the glasses on him, and she gave him a bigger smile once they were on.

“Yeah. Those definitely fit you.” She said. “I just gotta get changed, and then we can go. Okay?”

“Very well, Kara.”

~

“…So when I first started working here, I found it helpful to bring coffee to the other assistants to make new friends.”

“Ah, bribery.” Querl said. “We had that on Colu.”

_Though it didn’t work on the robots that raised me. I had to reconfigure them entirely to make them agreeable._

“No, it’s not bribery.” Kara answered, looking a little bit uncomfortable at his words. He immediately regretted them, as she continued. “It’s just… niceness.”

_That didn’t work on the Kelexes either._

Querl didn’t look at any of the interns as he walked through with Kara, only handing some of them coffees and repeating “Good morning” in the tone he’d heard Kara speak in.

“Those alarms are…”

“Phones.”

“Yes. Your communication devices.” Querl said. “Not to worry, I will learn those- do you have access to a manual?”

“No, but I can ask around.” Kara answered. “Or you can just look it up, you have a computer.”

“Yes! Most helpful.” Querl said.

“You’re welcome. Oh! You definitely want to give Eve Tessmacher a coffee, she’s James’s assistant- big boss- Eve!”

Kara ran over to one of the desks, behind which sat a blond woman with wavy hair. She stared at Querl as he handed her a coffee, dropping her pen in the process.

“Have you met our new intern?”

“Uh- Thank you, so much!” she said, enthusiasm bubbling from her voice.

“Sure.” Querl answered.

“What’s your name?”

“Quentin. Number 49800-“

“No, Quentin, you don’t need to give her your social security number.” Kara corrected gently.

“So I memorized that number for nothing?”

“No, of course not.” Kara said. “But there are other times when you’ll need it- not right now, though. James!”

James looked up, having heard his name, and walked over to Kara and Querl.

“I want to introduce you to our new intern. Quentin.”

“Right.” James answered, looking relaxed.

 _How much has he heard about me?_ Querl thought. _The man known as “Superman’s best pal”- how much does he know about the people who helped train Kal-El, his first real friends when he took on the mantle of Superman?_

He treated him like a stranger, however, as he shook Querl’s hand, welcoming him to Catco.

“Um, I had Miss Tessmacher put some reports on your desk.” James said, after the welcome. “They should be put in order and filed. So if you have any questions, my doors are always open.”

“Thank you.” Querl said. “And I apologize, I ran out of coffee.”

James laughed, even though he wasn’t sure what he’d said was funny.

“That’s okay, I’m just about to go get one myself.” He said.

“Can I go with you?” Kara asked.

“Of course you can, I’ll be at the elevator.” James said. And with that, he was gone, leaving Querl and Kara alone for a moment before Kara caught up with him.

“In my time, you wouldn’t need to use the elevator.” Querl said. “You would have no need for a secret identity- Clark didn’t, after all. You could just fly.”

“I know, and you can tell me later- but Quentin, in my time I’m still not showing my powers to anyone else- that’s the whole point of the clothes and the glasses. For both of us.”

Querl nodded, following her.

“Okay. This is your desk.”

“So I can’t use my powers to go through this paperwork?” he asked.

“No- well, with you, I don’t know.” Kara said. She really wasn’t sure- how did he show his powers, as a twelfth-level intellect? “I mean, I guess you could, as long as you’re subtle about it. But just make sure to stay here, okay? Whatever goes on outside, Supergirl can handle.”

Querl smiled.

“Yes, I’m aware.” He said.

“Okay, good.” Kara answered, just as the phone rang. “Now, it’s your first phone call. Think you can handle it?”

“Yes, I believe so.” Querl said. The phone kept ringing, but he spoke into it, not bothering to pick the phone up off its cradle. “Hello, this is Catco, how may I help you?”

Kara picked the phone up, and handed it to him.

“Try now.” She said.

“Thank you.” He answered, taking the phone from her. He repeated his message into it properly, and Kara nodded, knowing she could leave him there with confidence that he’d be okay.

~  
Querl didn’t like to admit it, but he wasn’t good with talking to people. Relating to them, really- carrying on a conversation. With the Legionnaires it had been more of a necessity at first, but became easier as he’d grown to get to know them more, and they became more comfortable around him. And after a few weeks, the same could be said of Kara (who made him feel at ease like nobody else could, aside from Clark when he’d been there) and Alex, J’onn and Winn.

So in his new job, when he didn’t have to answer phones or talk to others, he didn’t do it.

There was still so much activity going on around him, and he did his best to shut it out and focus, but it wasn’t long before he realized he’d done all of his assigned paperwork and didn’t need to focus- so he turned his attention to the full window he was seated in front of.

He stood there, with the phone in his hand so he’d give the impression that he was talking to someone as he hacked the comms used by the DEO, and looked down on the street below, hoping he could see Kara there.

And sure enough, he saw and heard her and James, right before she leapt into action as Supergirl- and got shot for her trouble, purple energy beam sizzling through the air and knocking her through some sculptures, leaving her on the ground.

James seemed to be doing his part as well, but it wasn’t long until he was knocked down too, and Kara attempted to use her heat vision on the alien gun belonging to the man who’d shot her- only to be met by a force field, when it got close. He tried to shoot her again, but she flew out of the way before any of his shots hit her- until the last one, which made her fall to the ground with a hard impact. The next one hit her too, when she tried to get back up- and this one carried her into the sky, crashing her through the windows of what looked to be a hospital, based on the logo on the building.

The attackers drove away, apparently satisfied, and Kara flew out of the building to comfort James-

And then the phone actually rang, and he quickly endeavored to answer it.

“Hello, this is Catco, how may I help you?”

“Brainy, it’s Kara.” She said, panicked. “Can you come back to the DEO with me? I think we could need your help. I’ll talk to James, it won’t affect anything about your work there. If anyone asks, you’re on assignment for him, and will be back soon.”

“Affirmative.” Querl answered. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Kara said, and as soon as she hung up, he was out- not looking at anyone, trying not to stand out too much.

It wasn’t a problem, however, and he didn’t have to try at all- because nobody noticed he was going.

Except, without his knowledge, one person.

~  
“…no telling what this might’ve done to you.”

Querl arrived just as Kara was relaying what she’d learned to Winn, while Alex and J’onn were also present. She looked tired, standing beside him, but she managed a smile at Brainy as he got there.

“We gotta find a way to track these weapons.”

“Okay, so it emits phased moon particles, right? I could maybe come up with a way to detect it.”

“I will help.” Querl said, looking over to J’onn and Alex for approval. They said nothing, however, as the monitors suddenly changed, crackling with static, and what looked like a computer-generated head appeared on the screens.

“You were warned.” The voice said, as scenes of violence were shown- Scorcher attacking the President, what Querl could now see was the bank robbery from that morning, others that he didn’t recognize. “The alien invaders are dangerous. Their intentions, malicious. They possess power we cannot hope to match, and technology brought from other worlds is falling into the wrong hands. We should not be opening our arms to them. We should be locking them up and taking their weapons away. You did not heed us, but you will heed the chaos that amnesty has brought. You will pay the price in fear and blood. And you will beg us to save you. We are Cadmus.”

 _I suppose some things never change,_ Querl thought, a chill running down his spine and his hands starting to shake as he remembered similar messages in his own future. He’d hoped he would never have to deal with that kind of organization again, but if he had to…

“Kind of a coincidence, that Cadmus releases a new video just as criminals get their hands on alien weapons.” Alex remarked.

_Perhaps it’s no coincidence at all._

“It’s not a coincidence if Cadmus is the one giving them the guns.” Kara answered. “I’m gonna go look into this. Come on, Brainy, we have to go back to work.”

“Right, yes.” Querl said, following her as she started walking away from the others. “And I suppose we cannot fly to Catco?”

“Not today.”

“Alright.”  
~  
After returning to the office, Querl was doing his best to keep his head down. He wasn’t even looking over at Kara and James as they were conversing, as much as he wanted to, or trying to discern what they were talking about. All he could do was look as though he were doing his work- that was it.

Unfortunately, however, it seemed like the universe made sure he would get noticed in one way or another.

“Eve?” he heard James ask, as he and Kara noticed her sitting at her desk, currently with nothing to work on. “Don’t you have quarterly reports to file?”

“I did.” She said, smiling. “But that new guy, Quentin- he’s so nice, he noticed that I was struggling with these and after I asked if he was having any trouble since it was his first day, he said no, so he offered to help me out, and well- everything’s taken care of now. What should I do next?”

“I’ll take care of that.” James answered. “Kara, you want to talk to him?”

“Yeah, I got him.” Kara said, and Querl braced himself as she approached, even though he was also trying his best to look relaxed in the face of her arrival.

“What are you _doing_?”

“Eating these red tubes.” Querl answered, holding one up for her to see. “I know they cannot be literally pure joy in food form, but they are as close to it as can be managed. Do you want one?”

Kara grabbed the one he was holding out of his hand, and quickly ate it. Because why not, and she was a little bit hungry after getting blasted a few times and thrown into a building.

“That’s really nice, Quentin, and I get that you want to relax a little.” She said. “But remember what I said about using powers?”

“Yes, you said you didn’t know whether or not I should use mine for this purpose.” Querl answered. “But I did, and now my work is completed, for now.”

He looked up at her in confusion, his dark eyes suddenly sad-looking, as though she’d kicked a puppy in front of him.

“Was it not… good enough?”

“It’s fine.” She said, attempting to be reassuring. “If you’re just doing your own work, as long as you’re subtle about it. But doing someone else’s?”

“I wanted to.” He answered. “I was trying to please her- besides, you said I should try to interact with others, even if it made me uncomfortable. She wanted to know of my progress, so I told her, and she then gave her work to me to complete, which I did.”

Kara sighed. “If something makes you uncomfortable, talk to me about it.” She said. “Come find me, or- you don’t have a phone, we have to fix that. Anyway. The point is-“

“I understand, do not worry.”

“Okay, we’ll talk later, it’s fine, it’s still gonna be great-“

“Kara?”

“Lena! Surprise visit to Catco?”

Lena ducked her head slightly, before looking back up, and smiling at Kara.

“No, I’m here to see you, actually.” She said.

“You are.”

Lena nodded. “L-Corp is hosting a party this weekend, it’s a gala fundraiser for the children’s hospital after that horrific attack on their new building.”

Kara bristled, wishing she could tell her I’m sorry. But of course she couldn’t, so she stayed silent, smiling and nodding while Lena was talking to her.

“…I was hoping you’d come.”

“You’re hosting a gala.” Querl said, rising from his seat. “I would be happy to-“

 _Offer my services, should you and your guests need any protection,_ he thought. But Kara apparently figured out what he was thinking, and nodded, before speaking to Lena.

“Can he be my guest?” Kara asked. “He’s new in town, this might be a good way for him to meet some more people.”

“Oh, of course your friend can come.” Lena said, keeping her focus on Kara, while also glancing at Querl. “You are literally my only friend in National City. Most people wouldn’t touch a Luthor with a ten-foot pole.”

“Yes, I understand.” Querl said, partially hoping one of them had heard him as Lena continued.

“It would really mean a lot to me if you were there.”

“Of course I’ll come. I’m honored.” Kara answered. “Both of us.”

“Right.” Lena said, turning to Querl. “What’s your name?”

“Quentin- um, Quentin Alak Richards, if that is what you inquired about.”

“Well, Quentin Alak Richards, find yourself a nice suit, and I’ll see you there.” Lena answered, before turning away.

“Bye!” Kara said, and as she left, Querl turned to Kara.

“We are going to a party.” He said, nervousness creeping into his voice. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Kara answered. “But if you aren’t…”

“No, it will be fine. I will handle it.” Querl said. “One request?”

“What is it?”

“Help me find a suit, please?”

“Of course. But, after work.”  
~  
At the moment, Querl had decided that the best course of action was to be transparent, with the DEO. Seeing as how they didn’t trust him, or at least trusted him conditionally, he was going to tell them the truth- or rather, whatever truths he could tell that didn’t violate the timeline.

And this plan was going well, if Kara’s confidence in him and his tentative friendship with Winn was any indication. But although he was becoming friends with the two of them, and wanted to build work relationships with the others in Kara’s circle, he still had to keep one secret, that were they to find out would reset all of those potential relationships. Thus, making it so they didn’t trust him at all, even though he had his reasons.

Despite his uneasiness about what he’d done, however, he was thankful he had installed a “bug” in the DEO, allowing him to listen in on what Winn and Alex were discussing at the moment. Namely, the photon cannon used at the scene of the crime, followed by Winn and Alex discussing the emotional state of Maggie- one of Alex’s friends, apparently, who was a police officer who wasn’t good at pool and whom Alex denied romantic interest in.

But Querl listened more intently when he heard talk of another attack, even though he couldn’t participate. Kara did, however, and as he continued to work he saw her fly back down from somewhere in the atmosphere, holding another police officer whose car had been launched halfway into orbit.

That couldn’t keep one of his thought tracks distracted forever, though, and in the meantime there was Eve.

Eve Tessmacher, who apparently needed him to go with her to deliver something downstairs in marketing, and by the time he’d finished, she was taking him into a storage closet.

“Who are you, really?” she asked. “You’re… you’re just an intern. But you aren’t really, are you? I saw you working, no human could get through paperwork that quickly especially on their first day. Nobody could learn that fast.”

“I… have a Master’s degree? And this is all the work I could find?”

She pushed him against the wall.

“Nice try. Who do you work for?”

“We both work for Catco Worldwide Media, Miss Tessmacher. I thought that was clear. And that you would know that, as you’ve worked here longer than I have.”

“Cut the bullshit.” She snapped, tightening her grip on his arms. “Are you from Leviathan? Or maybe Cadmus? Who sent you?”

Querl blinked. The last thing he wanted was to “play dumb”, but truthfully he didn’t know what she was talking about- so he had to improvise.

“If I was from one of those, what would that mean to you?”

“That I should be paying more attention to you than I thought.” Eve answered. “But if you are just another really smart guy, who wasn’t planted here to spy on- no, I shouldn’t say that- then I don’t think I can let you out of here knowing what you do now.”

Before Querl could do anything, or activate the forcefield he’d hidden in his belt, there was a knife at his throat, and Eve was uncomfortably close.

“Now, for the last time, tell me your secrets.” She whispered, voice low, a far cry from the bubbliness she’d exuded earlier. “Or I’ll-“

There were footsteps outside, approaching voices from the hallway, and Eve stared at Querl suddenly, eyes taking on a panicked look. She put the knife away, and Querl felt her hands (cold, with sharp nails) under his shirt, climbing upwards as she held him closer. Before he knew it, she was kissing him, and Kara was opening the door.

She stumbled back against the wall, apparently partially in shock and not happy about what was going on, and Eve quickly pulled away from him.

“Tell anyone about this, and I’ll kill you.” She whispered into his ear. Then she gave her best apologetic looks to Kara and James as she walked out of the storage closet, going into a detailed explanation of what had happened.

Querl, meanwhile, fell into step on Kara’s other side, staying silent- only partially because of Eve’s threat. But even when he did try to explain himself, she wasn’t hearing it at the moment, and he resigned himself to having to save his explanation for later.

_It looks like we are back to “square one” after all._

~  
Luckily, however (in the midst of his attempting to come up with a proper apology to Kara for the lapse in judgment he experienced, and the one responsible for such a lapse- as well as finding excuses to avoid Eve) Querl was able to additionally focus on another matter, as Winn came through Catco the next morning.

“Brainy!” Winn said, smiling at him. “Oh, I’m glad you’re here. Can you come with me, just for a second?”

“Of course, although it will be far longer than a second.” Querl answered. “What is it?”

Winn gave him the short explanation as they go to James’s office- the previous night, James had come to the DEO with a question about how possible targets were found, and then later that very night he’d found footage of James leading some people out of an apartment complex that was dissolving thanks to one of the alien weapons.

“James is being stupid.” Winn said. “Can you convince him he doesn’t have to be alone in this, whatever he’s trying to do?”

“I will do my best.” Querl answered.

Winn clapped him on the shoulder.

“Perfect. I’ll be right back, I’m gonna talk to him first.” He said. “You just wait here, buddy.”

A moment later, he and James came back from the Catco balcony, only for James to see Querl there, arms folded and doing his best to look appropriately stern.

“Not you too.” James said. “What, is this an intervention?”

“No, we just want to make sure you’re not getting in over your head.” Winn answered. “Well, I do. Brainy’s here because I dragged him in.”

“Yes, I am.” Querl said. “But what Winn is saying is true.”

James sighed, exasperated. “Look, you wouldn’t understand.”

“Okay then, enlighten us. Because all I see here is- is a dude with a baseball bat and a ski mask and a death wish.”

James leaned against his desk, not looking at Winn as he spoke.

“My whole life, I’ve been a sidekick.” He said. “I have hidden behind my camera, while my best friends wear capes, and they’re heroes, and they save people. And I want to do something good for the world. This job is good and all, but… I want to give people another hero they can look up to, and make a difference outside of this office and this company. And I feel like I’ve waited too long already.”

He turned to Winn, and Querl sat down, moving away from the two of them.

“Winn, you found the work that you’re supposed to do at the DEO.” He said. “I haven’t, not here. But I feel like this is it.”

“I hate to break it to you, but you don’t have superpowers.” Winn said. “I get it, being a hero is addictive… but you can’t fly, or anything.”

“That doesn’t mean he can’t be a hero.” Querl answered. “James, I have a friend, Val- he has no powers either. But he is the best combatant I know, and once even took down Superman in a fight. I thought I didn’t need to learn anything from anyone, due to my intellect, but I have learned from him. And others could learn from your example. But you must not put your heroism above your personal needs, or your self-preservation.”

“And that means…”

“If you don’t have a death wish, you’re gonna let us help you.” Winn answered. “Right, Brainy?”

“Yes. I will assist as much as I can.”

“Great.” Winn said. “So, you really sure about this?”

“I am.” James said. “I’m ready.”

“Then we’re ready, too.” Winn said.

“I agree with Winslow.”

~  
It was the night of the gala, and Querl found Kara eating potstickers.

“What’s your name, beautiful?” he asked, before confirming that it was her. She turned around to face him, and immediately froze.

“Kara. Please forgive me- I am sorry, for what happened.”

Kara gulped down the potsticker she’d been eating.

“It’s okay, really- it’s fine, I’m not gonna yell at you again. Just… well, I had a talk with Alex, and I realized that I should let you be who you are. And who you are isn’t me. So if you want to get it on with Miss Tessmacher, be my guest. Please don’t share that with me though if you do, I really don’t want to hear it.”

“I didn’t intend to do anything with her.” He said. “On the contrary, it was she who accosted me- and, you were right.”

Kara was halfway through another potsticker, and she gulped it down before staring at him in surprise.

“About what?”

“She found me suspicious.” He answered. “Thought I worked for… well, she mentioned Cadmus as an option.”

“Tell her you’d never work for them.” She said. “And I’m sorry too.”

“Then we are even.” Querl said.

“Good.” Kara answered. “Where’s the suit from?”

“Oh, you like it?”

Kara nodded. 

“Yeah, it’s nice.”

“Winn got me a “credit card”, in addition to 21st century identification, since I have a job now.” He said. “I promised I wouldn’t spend too much of the money I will soon earn, and then picked out this suit.”

“Well, I think it was money well-spent.” Kara said. “So, are you going to be staying at Catco?”

“For as long as I have to, to pay this off.” Querl answered. “And because I do enjoy it there, suspicious coworkers aside. It’s almost relaxing, to have so little expected of you. And you’d know that, wouldn’t you?”

“I did have to deal with seventh grade when I got here.” Kara said. “I knew a lot of things, but there was also so much I had to hide, and more that I needed to learn. I don’t think I really appreciated that until later.”

“I understand.” Querl said, looking around at the crowd while Kara was finishing one of her last potstickers, folding the others up in a loose napkin. “Did you dance, on Krypton?”

“Yeah.” Kara answered. “What about you?”

“I never learned. But perhaps… you could teach me?”

He offered his hand to her, and she took it, leading him out onto the floor. Though they danced quickly, Querl was able to follow in her lead, and for a moment, he could imagine being happy with her.

Then sparks started to fly, sending smoke high up into the air as the attackers who’d been responsible for the robberies strode out, and Kara placed a hand on Querl’s shoulder.

“Help everyone get out of here.” She said. “Keep them calm. Then wait for me.”

“I will.” He promised.

And he did as he was told, at first- though the crowd was in too much of a panic to listen to him, so instead he found himself sliding under a table that was already occupied by Winn and Lena.

“Do you two mind?” she said, sounding a little irritated.

“That’s a black-body field generator.” Querl pointed out, as Winn stared at the device in awe.

Lena smiled at him. “Yes- if we can get it working.”

“This whole party- you set a trap for these guys.” Winn said. 

“Yeah, but it’ll fail unless I can get this operational.”

“ _Unless_ we can get this operational.” Querl corrected. “Is it at equilibrium with the alien weapons?”

“It will be.” Lena said, fiddling with the device with one hand, holding a flashlight in the other.

“Right, and once it is, it’ll absorb the electromagnetic radiation.” Winn added. “So it’ll shut them down- this is genius!”

“I know, but the frequency and the wavelength, they’re a match, so-“

“ _The induction coil_.” The three of them said at once. Together, they attempted to put everything into place as carefully as possible- each taking a turn, until finally they’d gotten it working, and Lena activated the device. It sent out an energy field that attracted the weapons to it, high above the crowd’s heads, and all three of the guns self-combusted.

Winn, Lena, and Querl crawled out from the table, looking slightly dazed as Kara looked at them with suspicion.

“We weren’t-“ Winn started. “Uh- under there, um- we stopped it!”

Kara continued to look unsure, like she had no idea what to say- but at least she started to smile, turning to James as both of them laughed.

“Alright. Now, let’s get everyone out.”

~  
“Good morning.” Kara said, opening the door to Querl’s room and turning the lights on again.

“You- am I late for work?”

“No.” Kara answered. “I just wanted to know if you wanted to get coffee with me- not bribery coffee. Actual coffee.”

“Oh.” Querl said, sitting up and turning to her. “Are we friends again?”

“Well, you did manage to help destroy some weapons that would’ve been really bad news if they’d stayed in the wrong hands, so yeah, I’d say so.” She said. “And… it was nice, dancing with you.”

“Good.” Querl answered. “Coffee it is. But, are you still mad at me?”

“I don’t know.” Kara said. “We’ll see.”

“Then that is good enough.” Querl said.

“…But I get the feeling you don’t exactly want to be an intern.” She continued, walking closer to him. “When I was younger, I had no idea what I wanted to be, here on Earth. I had a family, to help me and guide me, but ultimately I had to make my own choices. And I admit, I was trying to impose those choices on you.”

“I do not mind.” Querl answered.

“I know, but… when you landed, I was so excited to have someone to take under my wing.” Kara said. “Even though you’re also a hero in your own right. And I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but since I never got to do this with my cousin, it’s been nice having someone to look after.”

“While I may not need looking after, if there was anyone I’d have introducing me to twenty-first century culture, I’d prefer it would be you.” Querl answered. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Kara said, as Querl moved his pillow aside for her to sit down there. “And since you are your own man, and your life here is going to be very different from mine- which is fine, and great-, I figured if you decide to stop being an intern, you should pick something that you like. And I’ll be here to help you, wherever you need me to be.”

“Very well.” Querl said, and Kara pulled something out of her coat pocket.

“I got you something.” She said, handing it to him. “It’s a guide to National City. So even if I’m not there, you can always find your way around. And… look for other jobs.”

“Thank you again, Kara.” Querl answered, folding it neatly. “So. Coffee?”

“Right. Coffee sounds great about now.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1\. oh god, I am so sorry for this chapter being late
> 
> 2\. holy shit, this chapter is almost as long as the last one, I hope you enjoy (especially because there's one thing in there that I had to do actual math for)
> 
> 3\. season 5 starts in less than a week and it feels like I'm bracing for impact
> 
> 4\. thank you to everyone who's still reading this, you all are the best!
> 
> 5\. I am going to try to update faster, but no guarantees

“So.” Kara started, as she and Querl slid into a booth together, and waited for the bartender to come to their table. “You mentioned you had a favorite drink, right? What was it… kono juice?”

Someone could’ve lit a flashlight under Querl’s face- no, that wasn’t the right imagery. It was as though a spotlight shone on him, the way he smiled, and Kara found that she still liked the warm feeling in her chest that she got when he did so. Specifically, when it was targeted at her.

“Ah, you did remember!” Querl answered. “Excellent. Not that I ever doubted you would, but perhaps- regardless. Yes, on the rare occasion that I do indulge, that drink is my choice… though, I’m not sure it will be available in this century, or on this planet.”

“Well, since it is alien alcohol, we’ve come to the right place.” Kara said. “Don’t worry. They have pretty much everything here. Except…”

“Except what?” Querl asked, and as she frowned the look he was giving their surroundings seemed confrontational- as though he wanted to find the owner of the establishment, and perhaps shake them, or worse, for whatever failing they’d committed that wasn’t making her happy. And it was that thought that made her place her hands on his, and smile at him in return.

“Nothing.” Kara said. “It’s great here, my friends and I come here all the time. And yes, this means you, too.”

“But you are still dissatisfied.”

“No…” Kara started. “It’s just… you know, usually, you go to a bar to get drunk, right? To forget, maybe. Or just to hang out, maybe sing karaoke- we gotta do that sometime- or play games, eat food, talk to whoever. And it’s fun. It definitely is, and Alex tells me it’s really good that she has someone to rely on to take her home if she gets a little bit wasted.”

“…Wasted?”

“You can look it up. Anyway, yeah, it’s fun… but there’s one part of that experience that I can’t exactly partake in.”

Querl squeezed her hand, and the smile was back. Although this time, it was like she was seeing his face in candlelight, illuminated softer- though still unmistakably the person she was coming to consider her friend.

“I see.” He said. “As a Kryptonian living under the yellow sun, you have a naturally high metabolism- similar to that of a speedster- so your alcohol tolerance is much higher than most. Therefore, with few exceptions, any alcohol will not affect you, or its effects will be far less than on others.”

“You get it.” Kara answered, staring at him incredulously. “ _How_ do you get it, exactly?”

“The Legion may or may not have a speedster among its ranks.” He said. “And… formerly, your own cousin.”

“Of course it did.” Kara said, trying not to sound annoyed. “So, did Clark join after he was legal, or was he drinking underage?”

Brainy stared at her, and though she couldn’t exactly tell because of the lighting, she could swear he blushed purple.

“What will you say if I answer that he was actually with the Legion twice- once when below the 31st century drinking age, and once when above it?”

“Wait, are you _serious_? He was?”

“I would remember if he wasn’t.” Brainy said. “Which is to say, I would never lie about that. But yes, he was- before he finished high school, and after he finished college, according to him.”

“You know what this means.” Kara started. “Don’t you?”

 _Take me to the future with you,_ Kara would say. _Please_ , she’d add, the way the light from above their heads shone down on her making her eyes look even brighter. _Please_ , she would say, folding her hands, almost pleading for him to take her everywhere he took her cousin once upon a time.

 _Please,_ she would say, not knowing that she was asking too much, that she’d be entering into a world much darker than the one that Clark had the privilege to explore.

 _Please,_ she would say, not knowing that there was a chance he would have to carry her home, lifeless body shrouded in her cape.

He couldn’t even go back to his own time, yet. How could he possibly risk her life in addition to his own?

“I cannot yet return to the future.” Querl said. “But once I can, I will return- and we will go. That, I can promise.”

“You don’t need to rush.”

“Believe me, I will not.” Querl answered, heart hammering. Before he was required to elaborate, however, M’Gann came to their table, and waited for them to place their orders.

“He’s having a kono juice- right, Brainy?”

“Indeed. And do you carry Aldebaaran rum?”

M’Gann gave him a worried look, before glancing back at the bar.

“I’ll see what I can do.” She said. “Be warned, I hear that stuff could even put a Coluan in a coma.”

“It’s for her.” Querl answered, and Kara stared at him.

 _If that drink could do that to you,_ she thought, _what’s that going to do to me?_

_Is me getting drunk really worth that?_

“Alright then.” M’Gann said. “I’ll have those out for you as soon as I can.”

She left, and Querl noticed the tension in Kara’s posture, how she was watching M’Gann as she got their drinks for them.

“Do not worry.” He said quickly, holding up a hand in a defensive position after Kara turned to face him. “I do not mean, in any way, to compare you to your cousin.”

“Well, that’s very comforting.”

“Yes, it should be.” Querl answered. “You have a completely unique history, and perspective on the world from your cousin. You are fundamentally different- which means comparing the two of you is…”

“Like comparing apples and oranges?”

“Right, yes. Common Earth fruits in this century- though you and Kal-El are not fruits, you have similar origin points, but differ afterwards, which makes you both distinct from one another, and just as good.”

“Yes, Brainy.”

“Then yes. That is my point. And if you wish to know which one you are… you may choose your favorite.”

Kara nodded.

“Got it.” She said.

“And this drink, incidentally, is a favorite of one of my friends- who hails from a sister world to Krypton.”

“…You mean Daxam.”

Querl looked nervous, suddenly, and just as tense as Kara had felt.

“Yes- though I avoided mentioning the name due to the hostility between your planets. But she has consumed this drink many times, and never suffered ill effects- so I thought it would be an equivalent experience for you.”

“And you’re trying so hard to get me drunk because…”

“Because you mentioned it.” Querl said. “I thought it would make you happy.”

Kara let herself relax, folding her hands in front of her and smiling at him.

“In that case, thanks. Really.” She answered. “Even though this night was really for you.”

_To kind of make up for that whole thing with you and Winn a few weeks ago…_

But she wasn’t going to mention that.

“I see no reason why it can’t be for both of us.”

Kara squeezed his hands again, and that candlelight glow seemed to be back- only for M’Gann to place their drinks down right then.

“There you go.” She said, handing one of the drinks to Querl, and the other to Kara, before turning to her. “That one’s deadly to humans- but a refreshing cocktail for you.”

She left, and Kara noticed M’Gann talking to J’onn, smiling at how at ease the two were around one another.

 _It’s nice, that he has someone to relate to,_ she thought. _Someone from his home, that doesn’t make him feel alone anymore._

_I have my friends. And I have my family, of course. But…_

Kara shook her head. There was no reason for her to feel alone right now, especially not when she was sitting at a table with a fellow alien- someone who was still going through the process of fitting in on Earth.

So she turned her attention back to Brainy.

“You’ve been dodging me for days.” Kara said. “Avoiding, I should say. Sorry. And I know it’s not just work.”

“Right. Of course, there has been plenty of work- especially to throw off the suspicion of one Miss Tessmacher. I have had to work exceedingly in order to convince her that I am human, and from none of the organizations she named when interrogating me.”

Querl shuddered, and Kara laughed- before realizing how discomforted he looked, and briefly laying a hand on his shoulder before pulling away.

“Sorry.” Kara said. “Seriously, though, good luck. Maybe I can talk to James, and ask him to not only give you more complicated assignments, but ones that will, um, keep you away from Eve?”

“No, I will talk to him myself.” Querl answered, before taking a sip of his drink. “But, you said I was avoiding you. What were you referring to, besides work?”

“Training.” Was Kara’s response. “I know you’ve shown Winn what you can do, but I haven’t seen you fight yet. And, honestly, I want to.”

“You do?”

“Sure! You’ve been in the Legion since you were a teenager, right? I’m sure you have some impressive skills. All those powers, and you haven’t used them outside of the DEO yet… you said you could, since you have an image inducer now. Don’t you want to?”

“I do.” Querl said. “And I will train with you- although I admit, I am a little bit… out of practice.”

 _Rusty,_ Kara thought, trying not to laugh. 

“But, did you not say you were going to drink this drink?”

“Yeah. Thank you- for the drink, and the training.” She said, and she grabbed it and drank it in one gulp.

“That was… very quick. How do you feel?”

“…Floaty.” Kara said, smiling at him. “But I’m not floating.”

Querl held her hand, as he drank the rest of his own drink, and readied himself to call Alex.

As he and Kara laughed together, though, Kara seeming to enjoy herself so much, relaxing… as he let himself relax, calling Alex didn’t seem as much of a priority.

“We’ll train tomorrow.”

“Very well.” Querl said, as Alex herself walked up to the both of them.

“Hey!” Kara greeted her sister. Alex, interestingly enough, seemed equally happy.

“Hey.” She said, smiling.

“You look like my sister.”

“Wait, are you slurring your words?” Alex asked.

“Am I?”

Alex watched, as she stumbled over some words, trying to regain coherent speech.

“Wow.” She said, after Kara tried. “Kara Danvers, drunk. That’s… that’s a first. Wow.”

“Y-yeah, Brainy set me up.” Kara said. “I dunno what he said this was, but… he wanted to surprise me, you know? Give me this. I told him… never drunk before.”

“So you wanted to get drunk.” Alex summarized. “And he enabled you to.”

Kara nodded.

“Well, then, you’re taking care of her tomorrow.” Alex answered, turning to Querl. “Alright?”

“Yes.” Querl said. “I accept this responsibility.”

“Great.” Alex said. “Well, hey, um, have you seen-“

She turned, and saw a figure at the pool table.

“-I’m driving you home.” She finished.

“I’m not flyin’, that’s for sure!” Kara exclaimed, laughing. Alex left, and Querl watched Kara- grateful that he was able to see her so happy.

~  
True to his word, not fifteen minutes after Kara’s conversation with Alex, there was an emergency- one that required Alex to take Kara and Querl in her car back to the DEO, and Alex and Querl- and then J’onn- to steer a still-drunk Kara to one of the desk chairs.

“What’s the emergency, Mr. Schott?” J’onn asked.

“Is she drunk?”

“Brainy took me to happy hour.” Kara said. “He knows how to drink drinks.”

“I would think I do.” Querl answered. “And this was her choice- but do not worry, I will take care of her in your absence.”

“That’s good.” J’onn said. “Come on, move it along.”

“Yeah, okay. Thorul Arctic Research Station, in Norway.” Winn answered, pulling it up on one of the screens. The image flickered, replaced by a distress call from a scared-looking woman, insisting that whatever was moving behind her wasn’t human.

“After this SOS went out, nobody’s been able to get in touch with them.” Winn said. “The government put the whole place under quarantine until the DEO could investigate.”

“Alright.” J’onn answered. “Supergirl and I will fly up there-“

A glance at Kara, now sleeping soundly with her head on the desk, told him that wasn’t going to be an option.

“Alex and I will take the jet.” He corrected. “Let’s go.”

They did, as Winn looked back at Kara- before Querl carried her to bed, and after he did so, settled in himself.

He could get news on what Alex and J’onn found in the morning. Right now, sleeping off the alcohol was a priority for both of them, though it wasn’t necessary for him- and to be honest, he was just tired enough to go to sleep so early anyway.

As much experience with subterfuge as he had, his current work situation was exhausting, and he looked forward to tomorrow, when he could at least be in the company of someone he trusted.

Hopefully, she still trusted him too.

~  
The door fell- not just opened, but fell, completely off its hinges, thudding onto the ground, with Querl on top of it.

He groaned as he lay there on his back, looking weakly over at the DEO agents who were staring at him.

“I… slipped.” He said.

“Sorry!” Kara called, from inside the training room. “Again!”

“Yes, alright.” Querl answered, pulling himself up (grateful for both his natural resilience and the implants that supplemented that) and facing Kara once more. He ran at Kara, letting her throw him against the opposite wall, even though he knew such an action wasn’t logical.

“Again!” Kara repeated, once Querl got to his feet, and this time he and Kara circled one another. Kara was laughing, inviting him to take the first shot, and he could have. But, as much as he knew she could take it, he didn’t want to hit her- and, after all, the purpose of this exercise was to show Kara what he could do. There was no point in throwing the simulation off, or hiding anything from her.

Even though some things had to remain hidden, for the moment.

He let one of his other thought tracks concentrate on that, however, and returned his main focus to the fight at hand- so when she moved, he avoided it. When she swung, he blocked, deflected, moved aside to avoid another blow. Super-speed took no time to factor into his differential calculus, even if he hadn’t done so in 4 years, so when she used that ability, it was second nature to find a countermeasure. And when she grabbed at him, he let her momentum carry her into the wall, while he activated his Legion ring and used its anti-gravity function to walk up the wall and flip himself over her, landing on his feet while she was the one left staring this time.

“That’s more like it!” she said, apparently unfazed.

“I apologize.” Querl answered. “I-“

“No time for that, I’m fine.” Kara answered. “Want to go again?”

They did, and this time Querl’s shoulder ended up colliding with one of the stair columns, which cracked the column but did nothing to him.

“Is this because I got you drunk?” he asked. “Because-“

“I don’t hold anything against you for that.” Kara said. “I just thought you’d be up for a challenge.”

“You are certainly quite challenging.” Querl said, holding his shoulder- as even though he could see no injuries from his scan, it still hurt. “Though, if I can do anything, it is adapting.”

“I believe you.” Kara answered. “Trust me, I can tell you’re really good at this. But do you need a break?”

“…If you are offering one, yes.”

She nodded, and together they sat down on the stairs.

“I am usually much better at this.” Querl admitted, once they were settled and Kara had gotten them both bottles of water. “I have differential calculus- it allows me to predict the outcome of situations, though in this case, the combat and defense function has been in frequent use since I joined the Legion. But it has been several years since I’ve directly fought a Kryptonian, even if it was just for training, and not through a virtual simulation. Please forgive me.”

“I forgive you.” Kara said. “And I know you’re also good at making a difference, right?”

“Indeed.” Querl answered. “I just need to adapt to this century. And to fighting different kinds of battles than against the kinds of monsters I faced in my own time.”

“Here’s to adapting, then.”

Kara raised her bottle of water, and Querl tentatively clinked it against hers, as they mock-toasted- before actually drinking the water, because they both needed it.

They did, relaxing in each other’s company, until Alex opened the door.  
“Kara, hey. Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked. “Alone?”

“Go talk to your sister.” Querl said, giving her an encouraging smile, and she squeezed his hand lightly before she got up, following Alex out the door.

~

Kara did not, in fact, end up talking to Alex for a minute.

Querl waited for her to come back, of course, as he believed the two of them would only be talking elsewhere in the DEO. Nothing serious- but when he asked Winn and J’onn, he was informed that Kara and Alex had gone for a walk near the National City harbor, and as soon as they were sent more information about Dr. Jones- the sole survivor of the Thorul research station incident- they suited up and went to investigate.

He was left with Winn, using the spinning chair beside his and monitoring the situation, only being able to watch what was going on.

It was like being in the Legion again, on monitor duty in his ship, using a different chair. Or sitting in front of Computo- the good version, the one that he’d managed to make work for him- and observing everything from Legion headquarters.

Needless to say, as much as Querl knew he was proficient at both… when it came to keeping his friends safe ( _Kara and Alex specifically, at this moment_ ), Querl definitely preferred fighting alongside them as opposed to monitor duty.

For example, when Dr. Jones grabbed hold of Kara and she fell to her knees, purple energy going from Kara and into her opponent. Alex stood there in shock, pointing a gun at Dr. Jones, before starting to shoot him once her sister fell completely.

But the gun appeared to have no effect, and the doctor was able to take the gun and crumple it, dropping it and picking up a metal stool that he used to smash a glass door and escape out of it, going out of sight of the cameras Querl and Winn were watching through.

Alex went to her sister, holding her there, as the two watched Dr. Jones leave.

“What just happened?”

~

After seeing Kara fall, Querl went back to the training room- hoping to get some privacy, so he could think of how to return her to full strength and fight an opponent who’d seemed to have absorbed the powers of Supergirl.

Unfortunately, such peace could not last, and Winn and James soon entered, in the midst of an argument. Querl saw no reason he should intrude on them, and so left them alone, simply sitting back down on the stairs and remembering when the day had started, how much (aside from the pain) he truly enjoyed being near Kara, training with her and being challenged in a way nearly anyone else couldn’t do so.

James left the room, still determined to be a hero with or without the suit Winn was set to make for him, and Winn was left there, still concerned for his life.

“I understand your position.” Querl said, once Winn noticed him there, greeted him. “And… we should get to work on the suit. Don’t you agree?”

“I don’t think we have any choice.” Winn answered. “Come on.”

Querl followed Winn out, both of them silent, with the image of Kara’s power being drained still weighing on their minds.

_A worthy choice, for a distraction._

~  
And it was too good of a distraction, really- as Querl didn’t even realize Winn had left, and when he did, he was informed that both Kara and J’onn left, going to face Dr. Jones (or, as Querl learned, the alien parasite that was using him as a host- which he’d hypothesized but liked having confirmed). When Alex returned with them, however, they looked decidedly weaker, and neither of them looked like they were getting up any time soon.

(If he had the Legion ship, he would’ve put them both under cryo-sleep, in healing tanks. They could be rejuvenated in a matter of hours, or worst-case scenario a day or two, and he could watch their progress, even communicating with them mentally with a device he’d been working on before he left… but he couldn’t think of what could have been, or even what should have. He had to focus on what he had, and what he could do in this time to help them.)

That, on its own, was enough to pull Querl away from the suit, and into the medbay, as he monitored them.

“Something changed, when Dr. Jones drained Kara and J’onn at the same time.” Alex said. “I don’t know, might be one too many alien DNAs in his system, but… he’s mutated.”

“O-kay.” Winn said, hesitatingly. “That’s something the DEO can handle, right?”

Alex crossed her arms, looking over at him with a worried expression, sighing a little bit as she looked at the vulnerable form of her sister, and said nothing.

“Any updates?” James asked, looking into the room. “Are they gonna be alright?”

“Kara will be, eventually, yeah.” Alex said. “The yellow sun lamps are bringing her back very slowly. Way too slowly if this thing attacks again.”

“And J’onn?”

“He’s lost a lot of blood.” Querl said. “Which makes his recovery far more difficult than Kara’s, as he is the last known Green Martian.”

_Until his father, M’yrnn J’onzz, scheduled for arrival on Earth exactly three-hundred-and-forty-three days from now._

“He’s the last son.” Alex said, absently, before turning to Winn, Querl, and James. “But he’s not the last. Stay here. Keep monitoring them, let me know if anything changes.”

After Alex left, James walked closer to Kara, almost sitting down beside her.

“Hey, you.” He said, with a small smile, though of course he couldn’t smile for very long, seeing her in that state.

He then turned to Winn and Querl, jaw set and looking determined.

“We can’t wait any longer.”

~

Querl waited outside, letting Winn and James have their moment as Winn led James into the locker room, showing James the suit Winn had been working on with Querl. He’d already pushed his limits on interference when he worked on the suit, the last thing he wanted was for Winn and James’s friendship to be interfered with as well. So he continued waiting, and after James had finished suiting up, Alex came back with M’Gann.

“You know; the city could use you.” She said, nodding at Querl, as M’Gann went up to the medbay to wait for her. “Kara told me you were a good fighter- but more than that, good at evasive maneuvers… what did she call it- differential calculus?”

“Indeed.” Querl answered. “And, going by calculations, this point in history is not as important, more open to change- I can alter it without significantly affecting my own time.”

“You won’t ruin anything.” Alex said. “That’s good to hear.”

“It is.” Querl said. “And I am glad to hear that you believe in me.”

“Kara believes in you more.” Alex answered. “With me, you’re just getting there.”

“Affirmative.”

~

Dr. Jones was unrecognizable, the next time Querl saw him.

He had, as Alex mentioned, mutated- into a giant purple creature with multiple mouths and a build that might make even Superman jealous.

But Querl wasn’t afraid. Kara believed in him, he was fighting because she couldn’t- and though the confidence of everyone else in the DEO on his behalf was shaky, hers wasn’t going to change.

Or at least, he hoped it wouldn’t. Especially not after this.

“Stop!” Querl said, after the Parasite (as Winn called him) ripped off the door of a car, and the other passenger scrambled out of it, in fear. The Parasite shoved the car away, and roared at the car’s passenger, causing him to fall before he got up and ran from the monster, but once Querl spoke, it turned to face him instead.

“…I regret this already.” He admitted, staring up at it. It wasn’t that he was afraid, or didn’t want to be a hero- he knew that he was. And his fear was nothing more than an obstacle that he could- and would- get through. This was far from the first adversary he’d ever faced.

He only really didn’t want it to touch him.

And it wouldn’t.

He took a sign- just one indicating parking time, that could be easily replaced- out of the ground, and threw it at the creature, making sure his aim was precise. Which it was, as the signpost landed in the creature’s chest, and by the time it noticed him, trying to grab him (“We are Parasite” it said, as it attempted to get the sign out, and Querl did his best to keep it at arms’ length), a kind of bomb was thrown at it, distracting it and allowing Querl to get his bearings again.

The bomb went off, sending Parasite to the ground, and as the smoke cleared, James entered- wearing the armor Winn and Querl designed together.

“You’re on my side.” Querl said. “You’re a friend.”

“Not just that.” James answered. “I’m the Guardian.”

~

The bomb wasn’t enough to keep Parasite down, though, as it struggled to its feet, sending the citizens in the vicinity into a panic again, and James and Querl watched.

“Man in the van, you there?”

Querl didn’t hear the response, but he assumed Winn was there as well- probably in the van labeled “Star Spangled Delivery Co. Since 1941”. Of course, he could be anywhere, but that van was closest, so the odds were best that that was Winn’s location.

And, naturally, Winn was monitoring James. He was protective of his friend, knew he could get hurt regardless of James’s natural urge to be a hero, and just as with Winn’s job at the DEO, this was the best way Winn saw to help him.

Querl admired Winn. He had before, but he did even more then… if only because he was keeping himself safe from the Parasite. Not that he blamed him, or begrudged him for that.

Not at all.

“Yeah, he’s coming back for more.” James said, watching the Parasite. “…you sure?”

The Parasite jumped into the air, clearly deciding to target James, and as it looked like James wouldn’t have much of a chance to use his new armor, he raised his arm up- and out of it came a metal shield, deflecting the fist that the Parasite brought down on it. The monster crashed into a car, falling against it, and James stood up, looking down at his new weapon in awe.

“Oh my god.” James said. “It worked!”

James started laughing, and it made Querl want to laugh too, happy for his new friend (if he could call James that) and his success. And, to an extent, Winn’s success- as this had been Winn’s tech, and James was only the one wearing and testing it for him.

The celebration didn’t last long, however, because Parasite was still determined, and still on a warpath- feeling the need, apparently, to throw a car at a child. Just a bystander, in the wrong place at the wrong time, and as though he had super-speed, Querl ran in front of the child, catching the car with little problem so it wouldn’t hurt her.

“Get her out of here, now!” Querl commanded, and someone else carried the child to safety.

He returned to the fight, then, James deflecting blows with his shield and Querl using differential calculus to avoid the Parasite’s strikes and jabs- though, Querl knew, neither of them were as strong as the woman who’d just arrived to finish what she’d started.

 _There she is,_ Querl thought.

“That’s my girl!” he heard, from Winn’s comm system, and he couldn’t resist the urge to smile at that. Because she was, and to describe himself as happy to see her again when she flew at the Parasite, knocking it over before it could hit James again, was a massive understatement.

The creature got up, but Kara was ready for it.

“You wanna change the world.” she called, drawing its attention to her. “And change is good, when you finally become what you were meant to be. But you were never meant to become this.”

Querl was captivated, watching her- as he would have, in any other circumstance. But he was also drawn to what she was holding in her hand, something glowing bright blue, and he knew that was her weapon. Her plan, to ensure Parasite never drained anyone again if it refused to let itself be cured.

“Last chance.” Kara said, looking up at it. “Let me help you.”

It only opened all of its mouths and roared, and Kara gestured for it to come forward.

Then, when it did, she stood still- and when it made a move to drain her again, she held up two glowing blue devices, one in each hand. She remained unharmed, while the Parasite absorbed the power from the devices, and she continued to stand strong as the creature overloaded.

“There is such a thing as too much power.” She said. “Plutonium 239.”

 _Of course,_ Querl thought. _A brilliant plan._

“I’m sorry.” Kara whispered, over the creature’s screams.

Then, it exploded, sending smoke billowing into the air, and Kara to the ground. James raised a shield to protect himself, while Querl lowered himself to the ground, arms over his head.

When the smoke cleared, Querl got up, as Kara was walking over to him.

“Is he-“

Kara nodded.

“You did it.” Kara said. “You showed up, and proved yourself.”

“I would have in any circumstance.” Querl answered. “But especially, thanks to your inspiration.”

“Thank you.” Kara said, first to Querl. Then, she turned to James, who was still masked. “Both of you.”

She walked over to him, taking a closer look- only to stare, in surprise.

“Lead?”

“Couldn’t make it too easy on you.” James answered.

“Who are you?”

“A friend.”

With that, James sped away on his motorcycle, leaving Kara and Querl behind.

~

Querl thought he was safe.

He’d decided, with the free time that was given to him since Alex hadn’t shown up for work but left a note on his door telling him that he didn’t have to stay in the DEO all night, that he would take a walk. He was wearing his image inducer, and that was an insurance policy of its own, wasn’t it?

It should have been.

But there was a man sitting on the sidewalk, coughing, sounding like he was in pain. Querl was no stranger to seeing the homeless- even in New National City, they were always present. 

So, naturally, he decided to do something about it.

“Hello.” He said, approaching the man, who was covered in a blanket, and crouching down to face him at eye-level. “Can I help you?”

Querl saw the taser too late- and by the time he did, it was already crackling against his chest, wreaking havoc on his systems. It was a pain he’d nearly forgotten the intensity of, working too well for his assailant-

And then he fell to the ground, only conscious enough to feel himself being carried into a black van that had just pulled up to collect him.

A woman’s voice, sharp and familiar- _though thankfully not too familiar_ \- called to him from the front of the vehicle.

“Welcome to Cadmus.” She said, and with that Querl felt a blow to his head, and the world going dark.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gosh. how long is this fic going to be? you'll just have to find out! And so will I, I guess, because I haven't planned it out that far yet. And that kind of thing isn't predictable.

It took too long for Kara to notice.

She just assumed (and nobody told her otherwise) that he was caught up in work- either the assignments James was giving him or the stuff Winn had involved him in at the DEO, Brainy was doing both, and he’d assured her they would be done to the best of his abilities.

Which was to say, impeccably. Especially as he assured Kara and the others that none of his work would affect the timeline significantly, which was a burden off of his shoulders once he’d finished calculating those odds. She was sure, now, that he was much happier, set at ease knowing he wouldn’t cause a major paradox continuing to do what he was good at… but when Alex had asked if anyone wanted to go with her to the alien bar, Kara and Winn had agreed. Brainy, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen, and the simple fact that it’d taken this long for Kara to feel uneasy about it worried her.

Suddenly, she couldn’t stomach any more of what she’d been drinking, and when Winn asked her if she wanted to finish up his chicken wings (that may or may not have actually been chicken, she’d enjoyed the look on his face when she’d questioned it too much for her to confirm), she refused.

“Turning away food? That’s not like you.” He commented. “Oh well.”

He continued eating them anyway, and Kara barely focused on how James and Winn’s hands brushed when James went to get one of Winn’s wings (or for that matter, the looks they’d given each other when Kara had dismissed Guardian). Nor did she really notice Alex and Maggie, and how unsteady and tense Alex looked while talking to her, in contrast to how enamored of her Alex had seemed after she had come out to Kara.

“You okay?” she managed to ask, once Alex came back to sit down next to her.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Alex answered.

(which meant Kara was almost certainly going to have to stop by Alex’s apartment with her version of comfort food later)

“So…” she continued. “Where’s Brainy? I mean, we work in the same building half the time and even I haven’t been able to track him down yet.”

“I don’t know.” Kara answered. “I was just wondering the same thing, actually. He could always be working.”

“I didn’t give him anything new today, don’t blame me.” James cut in. “In fact, I haven’t seen him since yesterday.”

“Me neither.” Winn answered. “We were supposed to train, but- well, guess we have to reschedule _that_.”

“Well, maybe we don’t need to worry at all.” Kara said. “He could just be having fun on Earth, now that he has an image inducer. He might’ve met someone; we don’t know…”

~  
Querl was still shaking when he came to, and found himself (unsurprisingly) in a small prison cell.

“If you could just tell me why I’m here, I- I promise it will be a good conversation starter.” He said. He was leaned against the corner of the cell, arms against the metal bars, and when he looked down at himself, he realized he was still wearing the clothes he’d had when he was captured.

And that his image inducer was off. Which was definitely a problem- but when he touched it, or attempted to mentally activate it, it wouldn’t turn on again.

“Very well, I give up.” He continued. He didn’t know why he was talking- perhaps it made his tremors seem less worrying, or temporarily quieted the anxiety he was feeling trapped in here. Of course, he knew what it felt like to wake up in prison (he’d done too much of it) but this was a kidnapping, in an unfamiliar time, when there were very few people who even cared about his wellbeing enough to know that his being captured was a possibility.

So, he reasoned, nobody could blame him for being nervous.

“What is- what’s your favorite baseball team?” he asked. “A friend of mine was trying to teach me about sports in this century. I tried to tell him that one of my other friends was an Olympic athlete, but he seemed very confused when it came to the actual sporting events he competed in. Baseball is the one with the… the hoop, and the tall people bouncing the ball, correct? Perhaps he gave me misinformation on that front.”

The guard walked past his cell, either unable to hear him or unwilling to engage in conversation.

“Oh, a ring!” he said. “I suppose one of you would be married. It seems unlikely, given the behavior you engaged in when you brought me here, however, you have been successful in dating endeavors, which I will have to say is admirable. Even for someone who belongs to an organization such as yours. I do, however, express sympathy for whoever married you...”

That caused the guard to turn around, drawing a gun and pointing it at Querl.

“Don’t think you’re so important I won’t shoot you.” He said.

“Well, that would be a relief, from staring at your ugly face.” Querl answered, shooting up suddenly to try and grab the gun. His own ring was gone, and that was a loss that ached inside of him- that ring was so important to him, so costly, it was one of his only creations that was a complete success, it had enabled so many Legionnaires to save countless lives- but he could figure out how to get it back.

_Of course he would._

Right now, however, he was occupied with getting the gun away from the guard and reaching through the bars to take his keys, using them to unlock his cell. Then, after checking to make sure his ring wasn’t in that room (which it was not) he ran.

But of course, his captors wouldn’t let him go so easily, and while he tried to unlock the second barred door he’d seen, thanking whoever was listening that his shaking had slowed, people suddenly came out of a side door to block his way back to the other room.

“Leaving so soon?” asked the woman whose voice he’d heard when he was captured. She didn’t look like- she truly hardly resembled the person she had reminded him of, but her voice still sent a chill down his spine.

Her compatriots, however, were carrying someone familiar to him.

“J’onn?” he asked.

“Brainy, get out of here.” J’onn said, while two other guards held him back.

“If you want your friend to live, I suggest you don’t listen to him and stand down.” The woman answered, unfazed.

“Don’t listen to her, run!”

One of the guards punched J’onn in the face, and he went down, as Querl shouted in protest- and although Querl knew he was strong enough to take everyone else there out and carry J’onn to safety, he suspected he would learn more about what was going on if he complied, for the moment.

And, for that matter, he would get his ring, if he stayed and was rescued, which was a likely possibility and reward enough.

“Okay. Okay!” he said, putting his hands up and dropping the key he had been holding. J’onn lay on the ground, still, in pain.

“Now _that’s_ a good choice.” The woman said, and Querl’s world slipped into darkness once more.

~  
“NCPD has Guardian pinned down near the wharf. They just called for backup.” Kara heard Alex say while she was patrolling the city. As much as Kara drew her power from the sun, she did like flying at night, too- it was nice to see all the lights, be reminded that each belonged to someone who she might’ve saved. Someone she would try to save, anyway. Each one gave her hope, motivated her to continue on even when things seemed dark.

“I’m on it.”

And that would’ve been all well and good- except for the sharp sound that assaulted Kara’s ears, knocking her off-balance.

But she regained her focus, hovering in the air with her hands over her ears, enough to hear the message she was getting.

“Hello, Kryptonian.” The woman said. To Kara, her voice was all too familiar, and all thoughts of Guardian were suddenly much less urgent.

_“Cadmus.”_

“Got it in one.” She answered. “And do you know why we call ourselves that? Cadmus was the very first Greek hero.”

“If you think you’re a hero, you’re crazier than I thought.”

“I’m inviting you over.” She didn’t bother to counter Kara’s accusation, which only supported her point. “We already have a guest waiting for you. Your Coluan friend. But, if you tell anyone where you’re headed, he dies. If you refuse to come, he dies. Come to me, Supergirl. But I should warn you. In the myths, Cadmus was _really_ only famous for one thing: He killed monsters.”

Kara knew she was calling her a monster, and Cadmus- the organization- would treat her accordingly, but… what choice did she have? She had to save Brainy.

She sped off, in the sound of her voice, crashing through the window of what had to be the Cadmus building. She did (what she, at least, considered) a pretty impressive landing, and proceeded through the building, apparently without any obstacles in her way.

It didn’t seem like Cadmus- not until she met who she now knew to be the real Hank Henshaw (or Cyborg-Superman, as he referred to himself- an absurd name, but said with conviction). Who now worked for Cadmus, dedicated to ending alien life on Earth.

Martian or not, he was strong enough to fight her to a standstill. And she hoped, as she succumbed to unconsciousness, that Brainy would be alive when (if) she woke up.  
~  
When Kara woke up, breathing heavily, she saw metal bars above her.

They were in front of her, too, and on both sides- and to her right…

“Oh. _Brainy_.” She said, relief in her voice.

“Kara. Are you okay?”

Kara barely nodded.

“Now I know how bad guys feel when I pummel them.” She said. “I mean, I’ve been pummeled before, but… not like this.”

She stared at the ceiling- it didn’t quite feel like it was going to cave in on her, but it still wasn’t the most comfortable place she’d ever been in, and all she wished was that she’d been just a little bit stronger, that she was able to defeat Hank and get Brainy out with no obstacles in her way.

But even she had her limits, and she knew one way or another- or at least she hoped- that she’d make sure Brainy would be safe again, back in the DEO until he could find a way to his real home.

“So yeah, I’m okay.” Kara continued, before standing up to examine her cell. There was green light around her, which automatically made her feel uneasy, even if it wasn’t actually Kryptonite.

“They captured J’onn, too.” Brainy said.

“That wasn’t J’onn. Remember I once told you, J’onn assumed the identity of a human?”

“Yes. So… this was Hank Henshaw, that I met- and J’onn is still safe.”

“Yeah. That’s the human. Only they enhanced him, somehow.”

“Yes, I could tell.” Brainy answered. “Although I did not realize it until after I was imprisoned here, but before you arrived.”

“Sorry.” Kara said, before trying to bend the bars of her cell. She tried her hardest, but… nothing.

“The bars are made of Nth-metal, from Thanagar.” Brainy pointed out, as she was groaning from the effort, face scrunching up as she attempted to move them. “They’re unbreakable.”

_And I should know._

“You know, Nth-metal is also one of the substances with which I built my Legion ring.” Brainy continued. “And the rings belonging to the rest of the Legion.”

“Congratulations.” Kara answered. “Seriously, that’s… that’s great. But you don’t have your ring, do you? Can you… summon it, or whatever, and use it to break the bars?”

“No.” he said. “I designed them with the intent that the wearer wouldn’t be separated from them. But… I will consider that.”

“Thanks. But we still need to find another way to get your ring back, so if you have any ideas…”

“Funny story- no, not funny at all, but Winn told me that such a phrase is what you use when telling any story, regardless of the humor in it- the last time I was near Thanagar, I-“

_I wasn’t myself._

“Brainy?”

“Never mind. A-another time, perhaps.”

“Right.” Kara said.

“So. This is the infamous Cadmus.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Kara answered, putting a hand to her ear. “They sent me a message. It still kinda hurts, actually.”

“Oh. I apologize.” Brainy said.

“Not your fault.” Kara told him. “Besides, I think they kidnapped you to get to me.”

“In that case, I definitely apologize.”

“It’s okay. Now that we’re here… if we get through this in one piece, we can learn about what they really want, and who’s behind it all.”

“What they want, besides wiping aliens off the face of the Earth?”

Kara almost wanted to laugh, at how casual he made it sound.

“I have encountered groups like this before. I understand.” He said.

“In that case, yeah. Exactly that.”

 _Who else have you faced?_ she wondered. _What kinds of things have you gone through?_

_Are you okay?_

Those questions would have to wait. Especially until they were in a safer, and lighter, place.

~  
“Supergirl!”

Kara and Brainy looked up immediately, watching the woman who’d given Kara her message, the woman who kidnapped Brainy. She strode in, attention on Kara.

“I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”

“I’ve seen you before.” Kara said, holding the bars of her cell to make sure she was still steady. “In Lena Luthor’s office. What were you doing there?”

“I might ask you the same.” She answered. “I don’t like the idea of you around my daughter.”

 _Lillian Luthor,_ Querl thought. _Of course. Wife of Lionel Luthor, mother of Lex, stepmother of Lena- though at this point, she is unaware of such…_

No wonder he felt uneasy around her. And, for that matter, why she was familiar to him- although there was still someone else she resembled, who wasn’t part of that family line at all.

“You’re Lillian Luthor.” Kara breathed, coming to the same conclusion. “Lex and Lena’s mother.”

“I’m a lot of things.” Lillian answered. “A doctor, a patriot, a mother.”

“A liar, a kidnapper, a killer… does Lena know about Cadmus? Does she know who her mother really is?”

“And what are you to my daughter?” Lillian said, in a dangerous tone of voice.

Querl could only watch, as Kara and Lillian battled verbally, but he knew as he did that there was no moment where he admired Kara more, than when she was standing up to her. 

(Perhaps there were others- but right then, when Lillian had all the power in the situation and Kara was in a cage, she hadn’t sounded stronger or spoken with more conviction.

At least, not in situations where Querl could hear her)

“I’m a friend.” Kara said.

“Heard that before.” Lillian answered. “Years ago, Superman came to my son Lex, and promised him the world. A new dawn for mankind… Lex believed him, poor thing.”

_Lies._

“Then he watched.” Lillian continued, walking around the cell, leaning forward with her hands on the bars, glaring at Kara. “As your kinsman infected this country with his propaganda, as his power became unchecked. And when Lex tried to take that power back, Superman convinced the world Lex was evil.”

_He is._

“My darling boy.” Lillian lamented, shaking her head just a little. “My genius son, an actual Superman, behind bars for life. Because you and your kind will stop at nothing to poison the Earth.”

Querl and Kara were both standing now, watching her, and Kara stood further away from Lillian as she answered her.

“You’re out of your mind.”

“We’ll agree to disagree.” Lillian said, taking one hand off of the bar, then moving away from it entirely, walking back around to the front of the cell.

“So what am I doing here?”

“I need something from you. I need you to be human, for a little while. I know from your fight with Red Tornado when you expel enough heat vision, you deplete the solar radiation in your cells, leaving you as helpless as any mere mortal.”

 _Any Kryptonian,_ Kara itched to correct her, as her hand tightened around one of the cell bars. _And that is nothing to be ashamed of._

But she wouldn’t let Lillian get that satisfaction, she decided as she watched one of Lillian’s guards bring something to her.

“I’ve designed this helmet to absorb the radiation.”

“You want me to solar-flare.” Kara said. “That’s never gonna happen.”

“I can’t hurt you.” Lillian answered, taking a taser out of one of her guards’ pockets. “But I can hurt _him_.”

She aimed the taser at Querl, and instantly he fell back- there was the pain again, what he felt when her agents knocked him out and brought him there in the first place.

It wasn’t enough to make him unconscious, but perhaps that was a curse rather than a blessing in that case.

“We’ve been studying your friend.” Lillian said. “And I’ve been studying Lex’s notes, regarding another alien he worked with- another traitor, named Brainiac. Both are powerful, but their internal systems are particularly susceptible to these weapons. Say you’ll do it, and I’ll let him live. Or I can just hit him again, in his heart-“

“No, no, okay, okay, I’ll do it, stop!” Kara protested. Querl stared up at her, grateful but mostly worried.

“Please. Don’t.”

“I’m not gonna let you die.” Kara insisted, before walking over to the door of the cell. “Give me the helmet.”

The guards escorted Kara out of the cell, then, and Lillian placed the helmet on Kara’s head with all the grace of someone bestowing a crown upon their queen.

_Or a Kryptonite crown, given to a king of weaklings…_

But this was different. Kara was giving up her power, willingly, for him. And this time, he would see to it that she survived for the foreseeable future, as long as she had to.

 _I’m revising my previous thought,_ he considered as he watched her solar-flare. _This is the most admirable thing I’ve ever witnessed from Kara_

She didn’t scream, at first. She started to breathe heavily, and the lights flickered on and off as Lillian smirked, lightbulbs beginning to pop as Kara expended more and more of her heat vision. But eventually she did, letting out a final yell, head raised as she let out the last of her energy before she collapsed.

One of the guards took the helmet off, and she fell, but she was still conscious. Lillian lifted her up, holding her as she was on her knees, struggling to get away from her.

“Thank you.” Lillian said. Then she slapped Kara, pulling her up again and holding her chin in one of her hands as she saw that she’d made Kara’s lip bleed.

“Well!” she announced, touching the blood and rubbing it between her fingers. “It worked.”

She nodded at the guards.

“Take her.” She said, and Kara was dragged out of the room.

“Supergirl!” Querl said, trying to pull himself up- but he was too shaky, still. “SUPERGIRL!”

~  
“What are you gonna do with me?” Kara asked, mind still foggy. She couldn’t tell where she was going, or how she was moving at all. But when she was conscious again, she was being strapped to a table like in all the nightmares she’d had when she was first on Earth (brought on by Jeremiah, really, telling her what people could do to her once they found out she was an alien), a huge lamp that was nothing like the sun shining down on her. “What are you doing? She was supposed to save Brainy. That was our deal! Where is she?”

“I suggest you relax.” Lillian said, a black mask over the lower part of her face. She held a large needle, which Kara had never been afraid of before- but with this atmosphere, reminiscent of the horror movies Alex liked to watch, she was starting to be. “It’ll all be over soon.”

Kara began breathing rapidly, again, as Lillian’s needle approached, going into her arm.

“W-why do you need my blood?”

~

Before she knew it, it was over, and Kara was being dragged back into her cell beside Brainy.

Someone shoved her, and she was slammed against the cell wall, falling back and hitting the ground roughly as the door was shut.

“Kara. What did they do to you?”

“They took my blood.” She said, crawling over to where he sat, and pulling herself up so she could sit beside him. Almost like they were in the same cell- separated by only a few inches, and some Nth metal.

“And?”

“And… that was it.” Kara answered as she leaned back.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m scared.” She admitted. “Brainy… Querl, if something happens, if I don’t get out of here, I need you to tell Alex something for me.”

“Anything.”

“I need you to tell her to just… keep living her life, on her own terms. Tell her I wasn’t scared, okay?”

Querl nodded.

“If I don’t make it out and you do, you’re welcome to tell her I was not scared either.” He said. “Although in this case, it is logical to be afraid.”

“Thanks, that’s very comforting.” Kara said.

“Right.” Querl answered. “But I just keep thinking… if I die in this cell, maybe I deserve to.”

_Because of my family. Because of my own history with cells just like these, on planets dedicated to holding criminals, because of what I once did, because I can’t tell you the real reason I’m here-_

_Because I can’t tell you any of this, either._

“You don’t deserve to die.” Kara answered immediately, fiercely. “You deserve to survive. You’re a Legionnaire. Clark said that, you’re a hero. And you don’t believe that yourself?”

“Kara, about that, there’s something I have to tell you-“

But right then, Kara’s cell opened.

“Come with me.” Beckoned a figure in a black jacket, hood over his head.

“Who are you?”

He took the hood off, and Kara stared.

“Kara.” He said. “It’s me.”

“Jeremiah.” She whispered. “I can’t believe it…”

She launched herself forward, hugging him, and he held her just as tight.

“We have to move.” He said, and moved to unlock Querl’s cell.

But by then, Querl had fallen unconscious again, and when the door was open, he slumped onto the floor.

“Oh my god, _Brainy_.”

~

“He’s going to be fine, he’s already recovering from the taser.” Jeremiah said.

“We should’ve found you sooner.” Kara answered. “But Brainy needs to get his ring, it should be somewhere around here.”

Jeremiah smiled, and pulled it out of his pocket.

“Thought this looked special.” He said. “Like something your cousin showed me once.”

Kara nodded.

“Yeah, he and Brainy worked together.” she said, sliding it onto one of Brainy’s fingers, holding his hand to keep the ring from being shaken off.

“Got it. But you finding me sooner doesn’t matter now- you were off saving the world. And I am so proud of who you’ve become.”

Kara smiled, blinking away tears.

“But… but Alex, when she sees you, she’s- she’s had to be so strong, she took over _everything_.”

“She’s always been too strong for her own good.” Jeremiah said. “Brainy, are you able to get up?”

“I- I should.” Querl answered, making sure his systems were functioning properly. “Leaving is an urgent matter. Thank you.”

Alarms started to sound, and Jeremiah pulled his hood back on as Kara helped Querl to his feet.

“We’re out of time.”

~

“Go down this hallway.” Jeremiah directed Kara and Querl, as the three of them proceeded together. Kara was helping Querl walk, but he was all too grateful. “There’s an escape at the end.”

“No, I’m not leaving you. I’m not losing you again.” Kara insisted.

“Kara, I’ll be fine.” Jeremiah said, unlocking the door Querl tried to escape out of. It opened, and Jeremiah gently pushed Kara and Querl ahead of him.

“Please, just go. I’ll slow them down.”

Kara must’ve looked doubtful, because Jeremiah continued.

“I’ve been here fifteen years. I’ll survive a little longer.”

“If I leave you here, Alex will never forgive me.” She said.

“Kara, if you die here, there’ll be no one to forgive.”

Querl could hardly imagine what Kara was feeling right now. To have a father who was willing to risk his life, to save his daughter and someone he didn’t know… he couldn’t put himself in such a situation. But such a decision clearly pained her, and she rushed into Jeremiah’s arms again, for one last hug.

“I love you.” She said, holding him tighter than the last time, not willing to let go so soon.

“I love you too.” Jeremiah answered. “Now go. Go!”

Querl could still see the tears in Kara’s eyes as he led her away, and when both of them looked back _(there was a story about that, right? Someone who lost their love, in an attempt to lead them home from the darkest of places? He would have to find it, once he and Kara got out, it could be a comfort in some way)_ , Jeremiah was gone.

Kara and Querl ran, then, escaping from Cadmus headquarters to the sound of gunfire behind them, and not daring to look back again.

~

“Oh my god, I just heard.” Alex said, rushing into the med bay. Querl was being checked over and Kara’s yellow sun lamps were still on, healing her and making sure her cells were replenished, but Kara had enough energy to sit up and greet her sister. “I had no idea Cadmus took you-“

_“Alex.”_

“I should’ve been there-“

 _“Alex. Alex,_ Jeremiah helped us escape.”

Alex could only stare.

“You saw Dad?”

“Yeah. And I know where he is.”

~

Querl sat on Kara’s couch, after he was approved to leave the DEO, with Kara by his side, making sure he could rest and properly heal all of his systems. And, with that comfort (by Kara’s insistence) came comfort food, as Winn and James and Alex arrived at Kara’s apartment bearing boxes of pizza and bags of something that hopefully tasted as good as it smelled.

“You guys survived Cadmus, the least we can do is bring you pizza and potstickers.” James said, as the food was laid on Kara’s table.

Alex took one container out of a bag, and presented it to Kara.

“I’m sorry, they’re… cold.” She said.

“That’s okay!” Kara answered, using heat vision on them. “Not anymore.”

“Aw yeah, she got her powers back!” Winn cheered.

Kara remained standing, and the others gathered around the TV, as the news reported Guardian being cleared of all charges in the wake of a recent arrest.

National City’s New Hero, he was being proclaimed as, and Kara realized she’d missed all of that- well. She didn’t know how much real news there was, when it came to Guardian. She had no idea what was going on with him, what his deal was- if he was anything like Clark’s vigilante friend/enemy, a lot.

But she would figure out what to do about Guardian later. And who knew? Maybe the city was big enough for two heroes. Maybe, even, they could be stronger together.

It would certainly take some of the load off her. The question was, though- would Guardian agree?

“Alright, I admit it, I’m glad Guardian was there to help you out.” Kara said.

“Hate to say I told you so…”

“No, you love saying that.” Kara insisted. James didn’t look fazed, as Alex and Winn exchanged glances.

“Still want to know who’s under that mask, though…”

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll reveal himself soon enough.” Alex said, before turning away. Winn and James followed her, and Kara sat down on the couch beside Querl.

She offered him a potsticker, and he eagerly took it.

“Oh, yes. Thank you.” He said, before eating.

“It’s good to be home.”

“You didn’t find our adjoining cells cozy?” Querl asked.

Kara didn’t answer.

“You were really brave, Querl.” She said. “I mean, I knew that. But…”

“To tell you the truth, I was still scared.”

“You can still be scared, while being brave.” Kara continued, after eating another potsticker. “That’s what makes you a hero.”

“Well…” Querl started. “Any courage I do have, I learned from you.”

Kara gave him a soft smile, before Winn drew her attention away.

“Kara! Hey, Alex said the oven’s taking too long, she needs your help heating up the pizza-“

Winn pointed to his eyes, as though he had heat vision himself, mimicking the effect.

“Yup.” Kara said, getting up from the couch and handing Querl the container. “A superhero’s work is never done.”

Querl looked up at the scene around him- Kara by the sink, laughing with Alex, Winn and James sitting down with drinks in their hands, ready to go for another round.

After so much darkness, being trapped with no hope, this apartment felt like heaven. Or, generally, somewhere he didn’t deserve to be… but they’d let him in, anyway.

This was his life, his new home away from the Legion, with these people who were starting to consider him a friend.

And, for the moment, he didn’t need anything else.

“Winn, pass me one of those?” he gestured at the bottle, and Winn gave him one, which he opened with ease.

He drank to having friends in two millennia. To who he now knew was Kara’s Earth father, who may have given his life for Querl’s safety. To this food, which he knew he was enjoying. And to Kara, his hero.

Yes, this was more than enough for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you for reading this, you all are the best!
> 
> And I still hope I can update more often, but I may have a new job soon (not to mention my vacation next month) so we'll see where that goes.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well. holy shit this is a long chapter.
> 
> (although, uh. I'm actually making the rest of this fic, or as much of it as I can get through, my NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) project. So expect several updates during this month! And very long chapters!)
> 
> (also this was a very weird one to write, because Brainy's asleep for a lot of it, so I hope you don't mind going into Kara's point of view for a bit)
> 
> (also plus 2, since I probably won't finish the next chapter in time to publish it on November 6th, happy early 2-year anniversary to Jesse Rath joining the Supergirl cast! I love you so much Jesse, there's nobody I'd rather have as this show's Brainiac 5. You deserve the best.)

The trip to Kara’s apartment that Querl now made alone, after a couple times going there alongside her, felt to him like going home.

For it was there that Kara had promised him a seat at her table, celebrating a holiday she called Thanksgiving.

(“I know, it’s probably outdated, and you don’t celebrate it anymore in your time.” “Yes- not to mention, according to my research, that it’s also racist… but you highlight the positive aspects of it, so you probably did not want to hear that.” “No, no, it’s fine. You’re right, on both counts. But in this century we do still celebrate it, and it’s a holiday about family- and food, two of the reasons why I like it so much. And since you’ve arrived…”)

 _She considers me part of her family,_ Querl thought. _Alongside her parents, and Alex and J’onn and Winn and James… and Clark, though she’s informed me that he’s too busy to attend. It is a high honor._

So, in keeping with such, he had no choice but to impress her in how much he decided to do for this celebration. Which was why, after purchasing what was necessary for the “stuffing” she’d asked for him to bring (and discovering that it had nothing to do with pillows, nor mattresses, nor taxidermy, in this context) he considered the flowers located near the grocery store registers. Fresh flowers, even in National City, seemed to be out of season, but there were always artificial ones- which he saw as even better.

He didn’t see the logic in cutting perfectly good living flora, after all, and they could function as somewhat of a metaphor, or a simile. Like him, they weren’t organic, and like his feelings toward Kara- admiration most significantly- they would never die.

So he bought them, the flowers that most seemed to resemble orange roses, and added them to his bag with the ingredients for the stuffing (which he made in the DEO, using the kitchen Alex had given him directions to) before placing it in a dish and bringing it and the flowers with him to Kara’s apartment.

Once there, however, he hesitated. He could already hear voices inside- there was Kara, very clearly, and a woman he didn’t recognize, and more faintly, Alex was also present with James and Winn.

 _I am late,_ he thought. _Kara will not think highly of me, if I decide to appear now._

 _But you spent extra time finding an additional gift for her_ , his mind argued back. _And you made the stuffing yourself, instead of making it from a box. She’s going to appreciate that._

And with that, as well as the phrase “fashionably late” (which he’d learned from Kara, and she’d used more than once when covering for her Supergirl activities) in mind, he knocked on the door.

It was inelegant, but Kara managed to answer, which made his efforts completely worth it. For she was wearing a dress with a floral pattern, not dissimilar to the flowers he was holding, and her hair was elaborately braided. He’d seen her in a dress before, at Lena’s gala, and of course she was a vision in her Supergirl suit. But this was a different kind of beauty, and he had to admit (even moreso than before) that he could continue to look at her for days on end and not once get tired of her.

“Brainy!” she exclaimed, as she opened the door. “I’m so glad you made it!”

“I’m glad I could be here.” He answered, holding out the stuffing first. “Ah… Jolly… Thanksgiving?”

“ _Happy_ Thanksgiving to you too.” She said, taking the dish, as he smiled. “You made homemade stuffing?”

“Indeed.” Querl said. “Was I not supposed to?”

Kara lifted the lid, smelling it, before smiling in approval.

“I didn’t ask for that, but it looks great, so you won’t hear any complaining here.” She said. “I’ll just put it over…”

She set it on the kitchen table next to the turkey, and turned back to him.

“Now these, I bought for you.” He said, extending the orange roses. “I was once told to always show up _not_ empty-handed.”

“They’re lovely.” Kara said, taking them. “Sounds like your mother raised you right.”

“No, she most definitely… _did not_.” Querl clarified. But that only briefly saddened Kara, as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gave them a quick squeeze, before depositing the flowers in a vase near her door.

“By the way, the flowers aren’t real.”

“That’s okay.” Kara said. “You’re- well, thank you, for both these and the stuffing.”

“It was my pleasure.”

"Come on.” She continued, as she drew him into the apartment, and he relaxed. He knew, already, that he would go wherever she led him, but on this day, especially, he felt safe in her household, with the people she trusted the most to invite in alongside him. “Let me introduce you to my mom. I mean- my Earth mom, Eliza- I promise, she's the best. And not just because she makes my favorite pie ever.”

“Very well.”

“Kara!” Eliza said, before the two of them could go to her. “Is this your friend from Colu you were telling me about?”

“Yes! Um, this is- you know.”

“Doctor Danvers!” Querl said, making an effort to sound enthusiastic, as he and Eliza shook hands, and he tried not to be so stiff when doing so. “It’s an honor and a privilege. And, I’m not sure how much you were informed of the Myriad project, but that was… I apologize, on behalf of my ancestor, and her actions against your family.”

“It’s alright, Querl. I know you had nothing to do with that.” Eliza said. “And please, call me Eliza.”

Already put at ease by her words, Querl agreed.

“Eliza.” He said. “Kara tells me you’re a brilliant scientist. And coming from her, I know that must be true, not to mention riveting. If you wish to discuss anything…”

“I have time.” She answered, and soon they were sitting on the couch together, as though he’d never lost his mother at all.

(He would be lying if he said the name _Fabala_ didn’t nearly slip out, when addressing her. But he kept control of himself, for now.)

But Eliza couldn’t stay and talk with him forever, and once she left the couch, Winn addressed him.

“Brainy! Hey. Thought I heard you come in- how’re you doing?”

“Well, it… it’s been a week, since I was abducted by Cadmus.” Querl said, looking down at his hands. He didn’t want to think about being in a prison cell again, or electrocution (which could’ve led to far worse than just pain), or Kara being hurt. “And I have had several nightmares… but mostly, in the spirit of this holiday, I am just thankful that Kara saved me.”

Winn nodded, smiling, and placed a gentle hand on his back.

“I’m also thankful you’re safe, buddy.” He said. “I was really starting to miss you.”

“But did you miss me, or testing my abilities? Or seeing what little I really know about this century?”

Winn paused, scratching the part of his chin where a beard would be if he had one.

“Hmm… all of the above.” He said. He leaned in, after that, and Querl found himself pulled closer to Winn and James, who was sitting across from them.

“Hey. So, James was planning-“

“Don’t throw me under the bus, this was your idea too-“

“Basically we wanted to tell everyone this year that James is the Guardian.” Winn whispered. “And we were trying to figure out which one of us should say it, James or I.”

“The superhero’s identity is their own secret to keep, or reveal, at their discretion.” Querl answered. “James should decide.”

“Yes! Thanks, man.” James said, and silently high-fived him.

“Yeah, but that’s the weird thing. We told Alex about it, and she got really weird all of a sudden- she insisted that she had something really important to say, and that we would mess it up with our…”

“Vigilante hijinks.” James filled in.

“Right. That.”

“Are you sure you’re not just complaining about her because she stole your beer?”

“No, it’s not just that.” Winn said, albeit still looking slightly wounded at the thought. “And I’m not complaining, I can go get another beer. It’s… I want to know what her secret is. What was so important that she couldn’t wait to tell everyone?”

“Are you asking if I know?” Querl answered, aware now that Winn was looking at him with expectancy. “Because we do work together- but I know as little as you do, Winslow.”

“Really? You can’t just… hack into her phone, see who she’s been calling or anything?”

Querl now looked outright offended.

“I would never violate her privacy like that.”

“Would you violate Kara’s?”

“Excuse me?”

It was as though he had gotten whiplash, as he looked at Winn, who was shrugging innocently.

“What? You two have gotten closer lately, I wouldn’t be surprised.” Winn said. “And, you gotta admit, you were chatting it up with Eliza pretty hard there.”

“I was genuinely interested in what she had to say.” Querl answered, looking guarded now. “This has nothing to do with myself and Kara.”

 _You are not wrong,_ he thought. _But…_

_But she can’t feel the same._

_And someday, she won’t._

_Whenever I decide to tell that particular secret_ \- which, right now, as he saw Kara’s apartment looking so beautiful, decorated perfectly for the season and this holiday specifically, as it felt like it could be a second home to him, would not be in the near future.

He wanted to preserve his new home as long as possible, before everything came to ruin.

“You say that now.” Winn said. “And I did too, once- last year, and the year before. But…”

“But what?”

“Nothing.” Winn answered, hands up. “Just know that I’ve been there, and if you want to talk, I’m still here. And James is too.”

“What?”

“Yeah, didn’t you- weren’t you and Kara together? You definitely broke up a few months ago, right?”

“If by “a few” you mean “it’s November, and that was in April,” yeah.” James said. “And I would use that phrase if we were together at all- which, really, we weren’t.”

“Oh.”

James put a hand on Querl’s shoulder, in support.

“But I don’t think that has anything to do with whatever might happen between you and Kara, though.” He said. “I promise; I think you guys are gonna be okay.”

“If I pursue a relationship with her.” Querl answered. “Which I will not.”

“You say that now.” Winn said.

“But I will not say it later?”

Winn shrugged.

“We’ll just have to see.” He said, as Querl looked over at Kara. She was smiling about something, and Querl was reminded of why he was there- what made this whole experience worthwhile. “After dinner, though. Come on, you’re not gonna want to miss all this food.”

“I would not miss it for the world.” Querl answered, and went to sit down with everyone.

“Kara, will you do us the honors?” Eliza asked. She was at one head of the table, while Winn and James were across from Kara and Querl, respectively, and Alex took the other head. The flowers Querl brought for Kara were just off-center of the table, near what Kara had informed him was the turkey (she’d been quite insistent that he learn exactly what went onto a Thanksgiving table, for future reference, even though he would’ve looked for such information had she not told him. But even a computer could not emanate her warmth, nor her personality- or the warm feeling Querl got whenever the two of them so much as made eye contact. So he let all of his thought tracks focus on her the afternoon she explained that all to him, while taking notes and sitting (illuminated by the sunlight) in this very apartment, and now he was glad for it.) The rest of the table, aside from the plates belonging to the various people sitting at the table and the silverware beside each, contained seasonal decorations as well as other food dishes Kara mentioned (rolls, stuffing, turkey, Eliza’s glazed carrots, mashed potatoes, another dish between Winn and Eliza that Querl couldn’t identify, etcetera) and rolled napkins topped each plate. A bottle of wine also sat on the table, in front of James.

“Oh! Yes.” Kara said, and stood up, holding a glass of wine. “It is a Danvers family tradition- well, it may be everyone’s tradition, but I know my family does it- that, before the meal, we go around and we say what we’re thankful for. So… whoever wants to go first…”

Querl found himself standing up, with his glass in hand- though, as he should have suspected, James and Alex stood up as well.

“Yeah, I want to go first.” James said, interrupting Alex. He cleared his throat, and Alex and Querl sat down.

“Uh, Kara, I for one would like to say how thankful I am to have such an understanding friend.” He said, smiling at her.

“He’s right, you are so understanding.” Winn continued, gesturing to her.

“You are.”

“No, she’s not.” Alex said.

“Yes, she is.”

“No, she’s _not_.” Alex repeated insistently, with a roll of her eyes.

James sighed, mouth closed, and everyone went silent for a moment- then Querl stood up again.

_If even Kara’s own sister will not defend her- though I do not know the context, and she may indeed be justified in such a choice- then I must._

“Yes, right, I’m sorry, I just want to- to say something.” He said, noticing Alex was taking a large sip of her wine as James sat down, and Querl remained standing, still holding his wine glass. He turned to her, and when he did so, he imagined it was solely himself and Kara in the room (like one of the simulations he used to do, with a certain other Super- although those were certainly a thing of the past, as few years had passed for him since then as they did.) “I’m also thankful for you, Kara. Because not only are you understanding, you’re also gracious.”

Kara laughed slightly, seeming to appreciate such a compliment, and Querl continued.

“And that of anyone who could’ve found me-“

_You have no idea what that really means. Or how much it means, that it was you._

“In that pod, I am the most fortunate man in the world, so to speak, that it was you.”

Alex pushed her chair back, and stood up then.

“I was just gonna jump in and say that there are so many things that I’m thankful for, and I’m- honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever really felt this much like myself than ri- than right now. And so there’s a reason for that, and that reason is…” she gestured with her wineglass, clearly at least somewhat inebriated but as happy as she sounded, “Well, that reason is-“

But whatever that reason was, apparently the universe didn’t want them to know it yet, because right then, what appeared to Querl to be an interdimensional portal appeared right over their table. It didn’t open completely, and nobody stepped through it, but it was active, and Querl stood prepared, as everyone moved away in fear of whatever could come through.

Then it closed, as quickly as it had come, and blipped out of existence as though it had never been there in the first place, and there was no reason for anyone to believe it was.

“Does that normally happen, on Thanksgiving?” Querl asked, to nobody in particular. (even though he knew, or at least had an idea, at who would be on the other side. But Kara didn’t know that yet, and so he wouldn’t tell her, or anyone else who would come to know the truth behind the mystery)

~  
After receiving some of Kara’s Thanksgiving leftovers (though, could they really be called leftovers if they were hardly eaten, even after the interruption with the interdimensional portal?) Querl went to the alien bar.

Receiving his drink, then, he sat down at the bar itself and began to indulge himself.

“Wow. You must be a regular here.” The woman sitting beside him commented. “So, you looking for some company? Because I am very good company.”

“Yes, I am sure you are.” Querl said, attempting politeness while not making eye contact. “And I actually am looking for company. But… someone else.”

 _Such as Alex, or Maggie, or James or J’onn or Winn._ He thought. _Or, especially, Kara. Anyone familiar, who reminds me I’m not truly alone in this time._

Speaking of which, as the woman sighed in disappointment, a hooded figure caught his eye.

“I’m sorry, excuse me.” He said to the woman, and stood up to try to meet that figure before they left the bar- conscious, somewhat, of the beeping underneath one of the tables, but not knowing why it was happening or what would happen once it stopped.

He stepped out, into the alley.

“J’onn!” he said, approaching the figure who had his back turned to him.

The figure who took off his hood- why had he not recognized that this was the Cyborg Superman Lillian mentioned, and he met, first assuming he was his friend?- turned around, and began to punch him, driving him back towards the bar. He kicked Querl against the metal fence, taking him by surprise (though he tried his best, to fight back, it wasn’t enough) and once Hank Henshaw gave him an opening, he pulled himself up and did indeed continue fighting back.

But Hank’s sheer strength prevailed that time (which he would remember, and adapt to) and Querl was hurled into a trash receptacle. Once he recovered, however, noticing Hank had escaped, he also saw that the alien and human patrons in the bar (nearly everyone) had begun to flee, and decided without thinking twice that he was going to help whoever remained inside, as well as determine the source of everyone’s panic.

“What happened?” he asked.

“They’re dead. All the aliens are dead!” shouted a woman running out past him, and as Querl looked at the bodies on the floor, he realized there was truly nothing he could do, for those remaining inside.

And, more disturbingly, that he needed to get out of the bar as soon as possible- lest Kara and the others find out too late that he was one of the alien casualties.

So he, too, left the bar, and started to run, hoping that he didn’t carry any of the death that haunted the bar with him to the DEO.  
~  
“Is this really necessary?” Querl said, as he stood (for the second time) in one of the DEO’s containment cells. “I feel… fine. I could do one thousand push-ups one-handed.”

Which he could have at any time- it was one of his superior capabilities- but now, after receiving fresh air (even in an enclosed space such as this) he was no weaker than Kara after recovering from being hit by Kryptonite, and so felt the need to express such in a way that would emphasize that to those he was addressing.

“While that’s… very impressive, we can’t risk you transmitting whatever it is you were exposed to in the bar to the rest of us.” J’onn said, as he’d suspected. Kara and Alex stood outside of the cell, also watching him, and he was thankful that this circumstance included them being far more sympathetic to his condition than the last time.

“Which begs the question, what the hell was he exposed to?” Alex asked. 

“Tell us what happened, again?” Kara said.

“I already told you.” Querl answered, sitting down on the ledge inside the cell. “I saw you-“ addressing J’onn- “But not you, the original Hank Henshaw. I followed him outside, we fought, and I lost- disappointing, but I will take this into account when preparing for our next battle- and then I heard the screams.”

He took a moment to compose himself, slowing the shaking of his hands and calming down the beating of his heart.

“If I hadn’t followed him outside, I could have stopped this.” He said.

“The only reason you’re still alive is because you chased Hank Henshaw outside.” Kara answered, taking a step forward to speak to him, arms crossed.

“I have never heard of a weapon, bio or otherwise, that can target only alien physiology.” Alex said, starting to pace before turning back towards Querl, Kara, and J’onn. “And that thing killed every alien in that bar, except human beings. I would like to bring my mother in to help analyze the crime scene. I mean, she specializes in astrobiology, I think she could really help.”

“That’s a good idea.” J’onn said.

“Great. Let’s get going.” Kara answered, starting to walk off.

“No, no no no no no.” J’onn said. “You and I will remain quarantined here at the DEO until we can figure out exactly what sort of toxin we’re dealing with.”

“J’onn, this is Cadmus.” Kara said, and Querl knew she believed such with one hundred percent of herself. “I know it, they’re planning something.”

“My _alien sister_ is not leaving here until we figure out how Cadmus was able to target only aliens.” Alex answered, equally insistent. “It’s better safe than sorry.”

Kara sighed, watching Alex and J’onn leave to contact Eliza, as Querl stayed standing in his cell.

He was sad for her, of course. There was nothing she disliked more than feeling helpless, or alone, and right now she was confined, with no way for her to help anyone.

But as much as he hated himself for the idea of keeping her away from her heroic duty, a part of himself still was glad that he wasn’t alone, and especially that she would keep him company, just as she had at Cadmus.

And, seeing her in such a state, he resolved then and there that he would help keep her hope alive, like she had his, the last time they were alone together.

~  
This was not his plan.

Then again, he wasn’t familiar with most games originating in this century, so choosing (as with movies, his clothing, and food) went to Kara.

Even so (and as much as he didn’t want to root against Supergirl, of all people) she wasn’t doing as well in the game she’d picked out for the two of them to play during their confinement.

“Oh, crap.” Kara said, realizing where her piece was going to land.

“I apologize.” Querl answered. “My turn? I mean, please.”

Kara rolled for him, and his piece moved into a worse spot than hers.

“And, you’re in jail.” Kara announced.

“That feels appropriate.” Querl said. He couldn’t even be disappointed at this point. This was his life, his choice to go back into the bar after Hank left. He’d brought this on himself.

Kara’s eyes dropped, and she gave him a smile.

“You’ll be out of here soon enough.” She said. “Both of us will. So don’t pout.”

Querl, in response, pouted, which was enough to bring out the laugh that he loved so much from her.

“Hey, you don’t, uh… you don’t like me, do you?”

“Of course I like you.”

_More than I could say, right now._

“No, I mean like, you don’t _like me_ like me.”

“Ah. Contrastive reduplication.” Querl said. “I’m still attempting to get the hang of your linguistics- English is my second language- actually, third, but that’s not important-, and the Legion rings have an automatic translator function that technically makes learning it unnecessary, but given my twelfth-level intellect, it was quite simple.”

“There’s a word for that?” Kara asked, looking at him with understanding when he mentioned his second language. “Or a phrase, really. Guess that isn’t surprising. But as I was trying to say, my mom, Eliza, she… she thought you were being extra nice to her on Thanksgiving because it’s a thing that boys- men- on this planet do. They’re nice to the moms of… of girls- or women- they have crushes on, s-sometimes.”

She was blushing, as she spoke, and Querl only stared.

“Crush.” He stated. “As in-“

“You don’t have romantic feelings for me.” Kara said.

“I…” Querl started, averting his eyes. “I am still attempting to figure that out.”

_She truly has no idea._

“Oh?”

“Yes.” He said. “You see, I’m more than familiar with dating, and casual relationships, as much as my time in the Legion and… ahem. Past pursuits have allowed. But getting to know people, and truly liking them- even loving them- not to mention discovering someone who loves me in return… such is a mystery to me, and something I’ve never experienced.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, it is quite upsetting.” Querl answered. “But I try to move on.”

“Yeah. I get that.” Kara said, also not looking at him as she continued the Monopoly game. “Thank you, for the clarification.”

“It is no problem.” Querl started. He would have gone on, except for the fact that he suddenly started coughing, uncontrollably, falling onto the floor. He saw red on the cell door, and were he human he would’ve thought that it was his blood, but Kara had clearly pushed some kind of alarm, and above him smoke poured down as an automated voice announced a containment breach. The door opened, and Kara was there beside him, by his side and looking (as she usually did) like an angel.

“Hey, hey.” She said, as Querl found darkness more and more appealing, and started to succumb to it. “Hey. Hey! Stay with me! Stay with me!”

He could hear panic in her voice, and her shouting for help, as he let the darkness take him over completely.

~  
“He’s stable for now.” Eliza said, checking on him. He was asleep, with his image inducer off and a device he probably could’ve identified on his head, but at least he was also breathing. At least Kara hadn’t lost him forever.

“Thank Rao.” Kara said. J’onn and Alex were watching him with her, and they looked similarly relieved.

“But he is infected.” Eliza added, as they walked down the hall of the upper floor of the DEO.

“Did he pass it on to Kara?” J’onn asked.

“The virus isn’t transmittable, organism to organism.” Eliza said. “You have to come in contact with a weaponized aerosol in order to be infected.”

“Well, that’s some good news.” Alex said.

“There’s something else.” Eliza added, stopping in front of one of the DEO labs. “I isolated a strand of the virus from Querl’s blood, and based on the protein coating, I’m fairly certain the virus is from Krypton.”

“A Kryptonian virus?” Alex asked. “How did Cadmus even get its hands on that?”

“My blood.” Kara said.

_If I’d known what they were going to do with it, I would’ve- well, I didn’t have my powers then, so I couldn’t do anything. Guess that was the point. But I would’ve tried to destroy it, at least._

J’onn and Alex both stared at her, as did Eliza.

“That’s why they needed it, to get in.” Kara finished.

“To get into what?”

“The Fortress of Solitude.”

~

Kara made no detours, in a rush to get into the Fortress. She didn’t look around, either- there was one thing she was there for, and no way anything else was going to distract her from her mission.

Except for the quite distracting fact that there were footprints- that definitely weren’t hers- in the snow, leading to one of the consoles.

She heard a rush of movement behind her- but fortunately for her, it was only one of the service droids that had been sent alongside her and Kal to Earth.

“Kelex.” Kara said. “What happened here?”

“Kara Zor-El.” It answered. “There is an intruder in the Fortress.”

“Where?” she asked, looking around. “Who is it?”

“You.” It said. “You are the intruder.”

Its eye glowed red.

“And you will be destroyed.”

It shot at her, taking her by surprise as she was shot a few times, and fell backwards. It was preparing for a fight, as she looked up at it, and Kara could only stare.

It continued to shoot, but this time she was prepared, and got out of the way. Following her, but not being able to fly as high as she could was her advantage, as she reached the top of the globe held by ice sculptures of Jor-El and Lara, and obliterated it in a fiery blaze with her heat vision.

It fell lifelessly to the ground, and she was safe again.

 _Mom, Dad, please forgive me._ She thought. _Hell. Kal, forgive me._

She promised him she was going to build him a new one, after this was over.

But first, she approached the console, that appeared to have blood-soaked glass on it. She picked up one of the shards, looking at it closely.

“What did you want here, Henshaw?” she asked, before activating it.

Medusa, it said in Kryptonese letters.

“Project Medusa?” Kara murmured. She tapped the required keys, and a hologram of her father- her birth father- shimmered to life before her.

“Dad.”

“Hello, Kara.” He said, sounding just like her Alura hologram that was currently kept in the DEO. For a moment, she wished she could bring them together somehow- just to see them reunited, see if they would react to each other. If they might be able to hug each other, the way she and her mom’s hologram couldn’t. But again, that would have to wait. “What do you wish to know?”

Kara was stunned by his voice for a moment, taken off-guard, before composing herself enough to respond.

“Uh- what is, um, Project Medusa?”

“Medusa. A weaponized virus.” Her father stated. “That I created, for the defense of the planet Krypton.”

“Wait, uh… a virus you created?” Kara asked.

“It was a joint effort between the Science and Military Guilds.” He continued. “We bio-engineered the virus to attack non-Kryptonian physiology- affecting Coluans the least, however, as they continued to serve as our supercomputers at the time. In the event of an invasion, Medusa could be deployed to kill alien combatants, while keeping our civilians and infrastructure safe from harm.”

Kara felt her heart, and opinion of her father, continue to sink with every word he spoke.

“Growing up, you told me your work saved lives!” she sputtered.

“I was.” He said. “Saving Kryptonian lives. It was the perfect weapon.”

“Well, now your “perfect weapon” is in the hands of my enemy.” Kara said, shutting the console down and walking away. She flew back, then, to the DEO, and people she trusted.

~

After doing so, she updated her team on the situation, giving Eliza the information about the virus. Brainy was still asleep, fighting the infection- but without a cure (hopefully to be created by Alex and Eliza) he would lose.

She went to sit at his bedside, looking down at him lying there so peacefully, the three lights on his forehead glowing a soft blue. If she didn’t think about the situation, she could almost believe he was only asleep. That he would wake up, and see her there, and she could take him somewhere- out to dinner, maybe, if he agreed, or maybe they could just stay inside and watch a movie, eating pizza and potstickers, or anything else he wanted- and everything would be okay. And she could almost believe that he wasn’t suffering from a virus created by her own father.

Even though he’d said the virus had a lesser effect on his kind, she was still no less worried. But she still trusted that Alex and Eliza would be able to help him. He’d get better, and things would accordingly be better.

They had to be. She didn’t know what she’d do if they weren’t.

She found herself, after that, looking out at the stars. And at the city below her, all the lights that she hoped she could still save- who were now in danger if she couldn’t find Cadmus and stop them before they continued their reign of terror.

Not for the first time, she remembered her mother, and the view from her room on Krypton. A memory that was now tainted, as she saw who both of her parents truly were, and what they’d done in the name of good intentions.

How many more bad things did they do, just to protect their planet? To protect her? What if her legacy, her family name, was just as bad, if not worse, than that of the Luthors?

How could Clark, Kal-El, be the greatest hero in the world, if he ever found out what his family truly stood for? How could she really call herself a hero, wear the symbol of El Mayarah, when the House of El contained murderers, when her family’s motto meant Stronger Together- except for everyone who isn’t Kryptonian?

But J’onn, faithful, strong, loyal J’onn, was there beside her. A fellow strange visitor from another planet, there to remind her that her parents’ legacy was more than death and destruction- it was her. She was Kara Zor-El, last daughter of Krypton, and she could make a difference. She alone could decide what her own legacy meant, and continue the good works of her family.

No sooner had she felt uplifted by that thought, however, that J’onn started to double over, crying out in pain. He groaned, and she saw his face mutate, shifting to halfway resemble something she didn’t have a name for.

“What? What’s happening to you?” Kara asked.

Then, his face turned back to normal, and he braced himself against the balcony, before turning back towards Kara.

“M’Gann’s blood infusion saved my life.” He started, wiping at his mouth. “But it also poisoned me. I’m… I’m turning into a White Martian.”

“Oh my god. But… Alex and Eliza, they can find a cure, they can fix this!”

 _I don’t think I can afford anything less,_ she thought. _I can’t lose you too._

“The priority has to be Medusa.” J’onn said. “I don’t want them or anybody else to be distracted from the primary mission. We have to stop Cadmus.”

No sooner than he’d said that, did Alex and Eliza walk up the stairs, meeting them on the landing.

“We found out how Cadmus intends to weaponized Medusa.” Alex said.

“They need a dispersion agent, one not available on our planet, but there is an analogous element, isotope 454.” Eliza continued.

“Which is incredibly rare, because it’s made exclusively by L-Corp.”

“If Cadmus gets their hands on it, they’ll be able to spread the virus across the entire city, there’s nothing we’ll be able to do to stop them.”

Kara took to the skies, flying towards L-Corp with a plan of attack already forming in her head. She knew there was a chance Cadmus could’ve gotten there first, but she was also sure if they did, they wouldn’t get away first either.

Meanwhile, Alex called a number that was now second nature to her.

“Maggie? Get every available unit you have to L-Corp, now.”

~  
Kara arrived in the building immediately seeing someone in danger.

That someone, in question, had been thrown at her by the real Hank Henshaw, standing before her with a metal mask over the cyborg half of his face and wearing a hoodie.

“I should’ve known you’d show up.” He grumbled, and they went at each other.

They grappled, for a moment, before starting a hand-to-hand fight, and Kara didn’t know which one of them had the upper hand. It could’ve gone either way, if she would say so herself, but of course, right then Lena had to show up, and stopped to watch the fight instead of leaving the building completely like she should have.

This momentary distraction caused Kara to be thrown at the L-Corp sculpture in the building’s lobby, bringing down the L with her.

She promised herself she’d replace that too, but she figured that protecting the CEO of L-Corp was worth more than keeping one of its statues intact, and so when Hank Henshaw picked up the stone L and threw it at Lena, Kara was there to keep it from ever reaching her.

“Get outta here!” Kara said, after staggering sideways from the impact, and Lena ran away. Hank threw Kara to the ground, holding her there, as the police arrived with Maggie leading the charge.

“All this time trying to save the world…” Hank started, still holding her down. “Who’s gonna come and save you? No one’s coming to your rescue.”

Another blue and white portal appeared, just like the one at Thanksgiving, but again nobody came from it. Nobody was coming to her rescue…

But at least Kara could save herself, as thanks to that distraction, she was able to get up, and knock Hank to the ground. Where, unfortunately, Maggie was shot in the shoulder, thanks to his laser vision. She fell, and Kara knelt by her side, not noticing Hank had disappeared, promising Maggie that she’d be safe.

~  
When she arrived back at the DEO, she updated Eliza, J’onn, and Winn on the situation, and they told her they still didn’t have a cure yet. According to Winn, it seemed like her dad had never even considered a cure- but Eliza pointed out Lena.

Lena, who didn’t know anything about Cadmus or her mother, but who she could ask to help find both- Lena, who was kind and good, who she’d stake Brainy’s life on.

She visited her, and tried to ask for a favor after telling her the truth about Cadmus- but afterwards, she suddenly went frosty, accusing her of being just like her cousin, coming after her brother indiscriminately. She, according to Lena, could end up going after her… but Kara didn’t want to. She wanted to make sure Lena knew that she could be her own hero, and that she was nothing like her mother.  
They were nothing like either of their parents, and she only hoped Lena knew it, as Kara flew away from her office.

~  
Kara went back to Brainy’s bedside.

This time, however, he opened his eyes, and looked up at her, before his eyes closed again.

“Hello.” He said.

“Hey.”

“Did you learn a… power where you can duplicate yourself?” he asked. “Like-“ He mumbled a name Kara didn’t recognize. “Because I am seeing two of you.”

“No, sorry, no new superpowers.” Kara said. “I think the double vision’s all you.”

“Oh. Right, yes.” He answered. “I see that now.”

His eyes opened again, but soon after closed as he lay on the bed.

“Your Earth mother, Eliza, she thinks I’m dying.” He said. “The virus still affects me. I may not have your hearing, but… mine’s pretty good.”

“She’s gonna find a cure.” Kara insisted.

“It’s okay.” He answered. “I’ve cheated death more than a few times.”

“It’s not okay, you shouldn’t be dying.” Kara said. “The only reason you are dying is because of my family.”

“Zor-El.” He said. “Yes.”

“Yeah.” Kara answered. “He’s the one who created Medusa, he’s the reason you’re in so much pain, and he’s the reason I can’t do anything about it.”

Querl didn’t know what possessed him to do so, but he reached out to Kara, brushing her hair behind her ear, holding the side of her face in his hand.

“You know, you look beautiful.” He said. “Always. And I would like nothing more than to take the weight of all these worlds off your shoulders.”

“You don’t have to make me feel better.”

“I do.” He said. “And… I know this is a bad time. But may I…”

He pulled her closer, and she put her hand on his.

“We can talk more once you’re cured.” She said.

“I hope so.” He answered, and fell back to his pillow again. “I do ‘like-like’ you, as you said, Kara. And you are absolutely beautiful.”

Kara nodded, holding his hand, as he went back to sleep.

~  
But she didn’t have time to think about his confession, as Cadmus announced they were going to launch the virus at the Port of National City. Kara was planning to go alone, but J’onn insisted- he was going to die as himself, come what may, if he was destined to die on that mission.

She didn’t want him to go with her, of course, she wanted to make sure that he was safe, but also… she couldn’t ignore that she was grateful he was there.

And it was a good thing he had been there, for he handled his double while Kara herself was able to focus on making sure the virus Lillian had launched didn’t reach the people of National City.

By the time the missile carrying the virus exploded, though, it was inert, and Kara only watched as Lena revealed she’d done it- as well as called the police on her mother. J’onn was okay- they all were- and the real Hank Henshaw was gone.

~  
 _Somewhere in space_

A dark ship flew through the cosmos, and a man in robes approached two figures standing on the bridge of that ship.

“My lords.” He said. “We’ve reached the disruption.”

“And?”

“There is no sign of the Kryptonian pod.”

“Find it.” Said one of the figures.

“The ion trail has dissipated; I would not know where to look.”

“Find it.” The taller of the two figures said, turning around to face the man, revealing their face to be covered by a mask. “I do not care how much space we must cross. How many lives we lose, how many suns we burn. Querl Dox of Colu will be found.”

~  
 _At the DEO_

When Querl opened his eyes again, Eliza was by his side.

“Am I dead?” he asked. “Is this a simulation?”

“No.” Eliza said, and Querl could now see that Kara was with her, along with Alex and Winn.

A truly beautiful sight.

“We were able to reverse-engineer a cure from a living sample of the virus.” Eliza continued.

“And when my mother says “we”, she really means… “she”.” Alex explained. “But Winn and I watched enthusiastically.”

Querl nodded, smiling at both of them. And, especially, at Kara.

“While this is good news, it gets even better.” Eliza said. “The Medusa virus was so easily weaponized that I was able to turn it against a common enemy- J’onn’s White Martian blood cells.”

Querl watched as Kara enthusiastically greeted J’onn, and he thanked Eliza for her work.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Kara said, turning to him.

“Yes, me too.” He said. “I don’t know what you would have done without me.”

That brought out a laugh from Kara, and he laughed along with her for a moment.

“So… are we gonna talk, about the… about what happened between us, while you were dying?”

“Yes.” He said. “And then, I want to hear all about how you chased that missile down.”

Kara smiled.

“Do you want to get some rest first, though?” she asked.

“Yes. Rest without the threat of dying hanging over me sounds quite good right now.”

“I’ll leave you to it.” Kara said, as he stood up, and she hugged him. “Then we’ll talk.”

“That sounds very good.”

~  
Kara knew there was something about that portal she kept seeing.

First it was Thanksgiving at her apartment, then at the DEO, then L-Corp… what did they have in common? Why were they appearing only at places where she could see them?

Were they all the same portal? Who, or what, was on the other side?

But once she opened her door, to see Barry Allen standing in her apartment, it all became clear to her. She greeted him, along with his friend Cisco, before he told her she was needed on his Earth to help with an alien invasion.

“Hold that thought.” She said, calling the DEO.

“Kara.” Brainy said. “Alex told me I should help Winn, during my recovery, and so I am answering this phone. And it is good that I did so- what is the reason for your call?”

“I’m glad to hear you’re okay.” She answered. “Listen, could you tell Alex that I might be gone for a little while? I… I’m going to another Earth.”

“An alternate universe.” He mused. “Yes, very well. I will make a note of it.”

“Good.” Kara said. “I just don’t want her to worry about me. And I promise, we’ll talk when I get back.”

“Thank you.” Querl answered. “And good luck to you, on your journey.”

“Yeah. I think I might just need it.”

“Alright.” Kara said, after changing into her Supergirl uniform, ready to make the jump with Barry and Cisco. “I’m ready. What are we up against?”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright, we're approaching the point where I stopped in rewatching season 2, because... well, you probably know. But we're going to keep going! Thank you all of you who've read this or are going to keep reading, and to those of you who've left kudos and/or commented, you all make my day!

Once he was able to get back to work (which was a relief- Querl never liked being sick or on leave from work for very long, especially during his time with the Legion), Querl heard Kara before he saw her.

She was attempting to talk to her boss, Snapper Carr, about a jewel heist Supergirl had stopped- except James also was there, mentioning Guardian’s part in stopping the heist and how he specifically had stopped and contained the criminals who’d escaped from the truck once Supergirl had crashed it. Kara still wondered why James was supporting Guardian so much, even though she did concede (perhaps thanks to learning the value of non-powered vigilantes from a trip to Earth-1, and specifically meeting Oliver Queen- who’d benched her, sure, but also he was a good leader, as Kara had told Querl when she’d gotten back, during a night of hot cocoa, chocolate-covered popcorn, and _It’s a Wonderful Life_ , that he had done his part to help, however much Supergirl didn’t need him to.

After hearing their back-and-forth for a moment, Snapper shifted his Danish to his other arm, and snapped his fingers between them.

“In the Venn diagram of things I care about, there is coffee, and there is Danish, the manna from heaven that keeps me barely, just barely tethered to the mortal coil.” He said. James still tried to give him his Guardian story before walking off, which Snapper didn’t react to, and Kara was left standing there, awkwardly.

“I told you to leave me alone.” Snapper said.

Kara did.

But not before Snapper was confronted by a woman with brown curly hair, who told him she needed help- and he promptly turned said woman over to Kara, as both she and Snapper listened to the woman while she told them, tearfully, about her missing daughter.

Querl didn’t hear that part of the conversation, but he caught some of it- and, especially, Kara’s frustration that Snapper wasn’t going to follow up on it. He told her there was no story in a teenage runaway, that Kara couldn’t do anything to help.

 _Unfortunately for you, that is practically an engraved invitation for Kara to help,_ he thought. _She’ll figure it out. You will see._

~  
“Just a club soda, please.” Kara said to the bartender.

“My usual.” Querl answered, looking up at the menu. “And- what she’s having, too.”

“Brainy!” Kara said, hugging him as she saw him there beside her. “What are you doing here?”

“Felt like indulging myself.” Querl said. “And I may have overheard that you were coming here.”

“Ah.” Kara answered. “Glad someone decided to enjoy themselves.”

“Oh.”

Querl’s face dropped, seeing her unhappy expression.

“Are you alright, Kara?” he asked. “Does this have something to do with your story that you were denied?”

Kara shook her head as she took a small sip of her drink, although Querl didn’t entirely know whether she was agreeing.

“I’ve just been feeling… betwixt and between.” Kara said, after taking another sip.

“An archaic phrase.” Querl answered. “Could you elaborate?”

“Out of place.” She said. “Not entirely myself- it feels like I’ve been saving jewels and money more than I’ve been saving _people_ lately. But this story isn’t part of the problem- it could be the thing I’m looking for.”

“Well, you are still saving people, and their valuables, no matter what. That is important, even if it doesn’t feel so right now- because it leads to cases like this one, where you will reunite a daughter with her mother.”

_I did many similarly unimportant tasks, after one incident in particular. And Kara has not even done anything to invoke the city’s mistrust._

“And if you are looking for trouble, I will gladly go wherever you do.” Querl continued. “If you want me to, that is.”

Kara placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I will always want that.” She said. “Thanks. I have to go meet Maggie, she’s going to help me with my story. You just… have fun, okay? Maybe see if Winn or James wants to hang out- meet you here, and you can do something together.”

“I will.” Querl said. “Thank you.”

“Well, thank you too.”

She kissed him on the cheek, smiling at him, before leaving to sit down with her sister’s girlfriend.

~

Kara met Brainy in the elevator, the next day.

“Got your paperwork done early?”

“Yes.” Querl said. “It is fortunate, that James allows me to do that. And that he knows who I really am. But Eve Tessmacher is…”

“She’s what?” Kara asked. “Has she threatened you again?”

“She… looks the other way.” Querl said. “When it comes to my work. But I do what I’m required to, and she doesn’t ask questions.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.”

“It certainly is. And you are working on your story?”

“I am.” Kara said. “I’m supposed to go to a place called… National City Clinical Research.”

“In that case, again I’m glad I finished early.” Querl answered. “Though I would have anyway. Shall we?”

“We shall.”

~

Kara took two of the wrapped candies in the bowl on the clinic’s desk, and returned to the waiting area, where Brainy was reading magazines.

“Fascinating.” He said, flipping through the pages of Highlights, before picking up one of the celebrity magazines Alex seemed to have as a guilty pleasure.

He was interrupted, however, by a man in a labcoat opening a door and stepping out to see them- presumably, this was the doctor in charge of the clinical research.

“Well, well, well, well, well.” He said. “Hello.”

“Hi.” Kara said, plastering on a smile as she and Brainy jumped up to greet him.

“Hello.” Querl echoed, smiling (even though he didn’t feel like doing so.)

“They told me two strapping young Millennials had dropped by, and… here you are!” he continued.

“Yes, we… are in peak physical condition.” Querl said.

Kara nodded, and continued for him.

“Yeah, we, um… we just wanted to get a better idea of what you do here before jumping in.” she said. “We looked at your website, it just said you could make some quick cash.”

“Right, we are trying to save up for a trip to…”

“Paris.” Kara cut in, putting her arm around him. 

“Well, we’re running a clinical trial on a new-to-market supplement.”

“Oh!”

“We’re just looking to examine the effect of the supplement on base metabolic rates.” The doctor said, taking out two clipboards. “All we need to do is some blood work, and we’ll have you in and out, and off to Paris in no time!”

Kara stared at Querl, looking nervous. She certainly hadn’t anticipated this, and neither had he, given the information they indeed had gotten from reading this clinic’s website. The problems were clear- regular needles simply wouldn’t pierce Kara’s skin, and though that wasn’t an issue for Querl, if his blood was drawn (even despite the image inducer) it would be turquoise rather than red.

“We- well, actually, we can’t.” Kara said. “Give blood, I mean. That is… that’s against our religion.”

Querl didn’t know what to say, as he’d never followed any religion, so he only nodded, agreeing with Kara.

“Yeah, yes, we are very religious.” He said.

“Very into our god. We are madly monotheistic.” Kara continued, and Querl smiled at the irony of that.

 _I should ask her, about Krypton,_ he thought. He didn’t know how it hadn’t occurred to him before, even though he knew a great deal about the planet that two of his ancestors had significantly interacted with. _I’d like to know what it was like for her, to grow up there._

_And perhaps, if I do, she could ask about Colu._

But that wasn’t relevant at the moment, so he set it on one thought track, and put it aside.

“Well, you both look healthy enough, let’s give it the ol’ college try, shall we?” the doctor said, relenting. He then led Kara and Querl into what could’ve been a parking garage, or another kind of large, empty storage room with white walls and a ceiling supported by metal beams.

“How did you hear about our study? We have a recruiter, but she didn’t tell me to expect anyone today.”

“I was actually referred by a friend of mine.” Kara said. “It’s weird, I haven’t heard from her since she came here.”

The doctor ignored Kara’s words.

“You, stand here, and you, stand here.” He said, gesturing to Kara and Querl.

“Well, maybe you remember her.” Kara continued, insistent on making him talk. “Izzy Williams.”

“Yes, she did come through here.” The doctor answered, his hands now on a large piece of black cloth over something. When he pulled the cloth away, it revealed what looked like a gate- alien-looking, mostly silver with blue accents. There was a control panel on the side, which the doctor was now operating.

 _Oh, I don’t like the looks of that._ Querl thought. _The last time I went through one of those, I lost my head. Literally. But then again, this time I am not suffering from the effects of the Alignment- although this is a twenty-first century model, things could always go wrong…_

“You said you wanted to travel.” The doctor said, activating an image inducer to reveal a reptilian face. Someone grabbed Kara by her hair, and she immediately sprang into action, nearly knocking the man unconscious. Querl felt himself similarly grabbed, and turned to let his assailant punch themselves in the face.

The doctor ran into the portal, now activated, and Kara took off her glasses, ripping her shirt open to reveal her Supergirl costume.

“Go back to the DEO.” She said to Querl.

“No, I am not leaving you alone.” Querl answered. “I can send a message to Alex, or Winn, but then I will follow you.”

“Okay.” Kara said. “Tell her what happened, and make sure a strike team follows me here.”

“We don’t know what’s on the other side.”

“Izzy’s on the other side. And that’s what matters.” Kara answered.

She ran in, and…

On the other side, she felt different.

Another reptilian alien- maybe the doctor from before, now wearing different clothes, perhaps someone else- tackled her to the ground, but when she punched him, she felt it- like the kickback from when one fired a gun. Someone else came at her, and when they hit her, she felt that too. Searing pain, that she’d almost forgotten, as she looked down and saw the blood from the wound on her knuckles.

Querl came through the portal, then, and tackled one of the reptilians- and when it swung at him, he moved out of the way, making it fall to the ground, unconscious.

“Brainy.” She said, relieved. “You sent the signal?”

“I did.” He answered, thankful he was in one piece. “You are bleeding.”

“Yeah. That-“ she turned, pointing at the sky- “Is a red sun.”

“I’m familiar.” Querl said.

_The last time a Kryptonian and I were on a planet with a red sun… things did not go well for either of us._

But perhaps he could allow himself to be optimistic in this case. Both of them were of sound mind, and they had friends who could reach them once they discovered their location. Depending on what planet this actually was, they might indeed escape alive and unharmed.

“Right. So…”

The portal blinked out, as if on cue, and Kara just sighed.

“We have to get it to work.” Querl said, kicking the control panel.

“I know, but my sister’s going to find us sooner or later.” Kara answered. “I know she will. So our priority now is finding Izzy and the other missing people and making sure they get home safe too.”

“Yes. And we will find out why they are here, and who exactly took them from Earth.”

“That’s the idea. So once we free them, and get them back here, while the portal is still presumably closed…”

“We’ll figure something out. As we always do.”

Kara nodded, glad they were agreeing (and glad he was there with her), before she heard a noise overhead.

“What’s that?”

“Sounds like a short-range shuttle.” Querl said, looking at it. “That’s a troop transport. But where’s it going?”

“It’s probably headed there.” Kara answered, pointing at a large, twisted metallic structure, that seemed to be built out of many layers of something- kind of like a metal ice cream cone crossed with an onion, in shape and composition. There was a smaller structure beside it, and on top (or floating above?) of the main structure there was what looked like a large spaceship. Smaller ships flew in and out of the large structure, and there was no visible entrance.

“Yes, so we’re going…”

“After it.” Querl and Kara said together.

“Towards the murder castle, yes.” Querl said. “In fact… I believe I know where we are now.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Kara asked. “You should’ve led with that.”

“Well, there are many planets with red suns, Kara.” Querl answered. “In fact, there is one, called Zune, that- that is not relevant. And this one- which may be Maaldoria- is not nearly so inhospitable.”

“Good to hear, I guess.” Kara said. “Even if I’m going in without my powers.”

She continued walking, and Querl followed her.

 _Grife,_ he thought. _She’s…_

He had many thoughts about her, many descriptions to properly detail her attributes. But the one that was coming to his mind right now was brave, and also selfless and good.

Too good for him, perhaps. But he didn’t let himself dwell on that one, as they walked together.

~  
“I’m interrupting something.” Alex said, once she saw Winn and James in the locker room together. Winn looked distressed, his black eye still not healed yet, and James was unsure of how to proceed, standing there with his hands in his pockets. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine, we’re fine.”

“Okay.” Alex answered, not believing them. “But I just heard from Brainy. He says he and Kara just went through a transmatter portal, and now they’re on another planet.”

“Like that’s something you hear every day.” Winn said. “Kara was on a missing-persons case.”

“Well, we’ll just have to figure out where they went, because Brainy didn’t tell me.” Alex answered, before leaving again.

_We have to._

~  
“On Earth, I’ve been reading about how humans rate everything.” Querl said. “In that case, this is a one star.”

Kara nodded, as they kept walking- seeming no closer to the (as she now thought of it) murder castle.

“I used to love going to different planets with my parents.” She said. “They’d take me to the pretty ones, though. Not like this. We’d spend solstices on Sedenach…”

“Oh, yes.” Querl answered. “The Bismuth mountains?”

“Yeah. Yeah, they’d grow right underneath our feet. It’s all those crystal staircases raising us up.”

“I took one of my ex-partners there once. It’s a great spot, you know, even in my century… uh, Kara?”

“What?”

“…my leg is stuck.”

Kara turned around, and indeed saw that his leg was stuck, caught in a metal trap that she probably would’ve been able to break if she weren’t under a red sun.

She fiddled with it for a moment anyway, trying to get it off of him in any way she could (or at least figure out what exactly it was, and what it was made of) but right then she heard a zapping noise, and jumped up along with Querl.

Because there was someone shooting at them. Whoever they were wore what looked like long, heavy robes, and was holding a gun that shot bright blue lasers, and Kara wanted to make sure that neither of them were going to get hurt (as much as possible), so she held up her hands in surrender as Querl did the same.

“This planet… sucks?” Querl asked.

“Yeah.”

~

“Are you seeing this?” Alex said, as she led a team of agents into the room where Kara and Brainy had disappeared. “What the hell is this?”

“Never seen anything like that.” Said Winn, as he watched along with J’onn in the DEO.

“I have.” J’onn answered.

“Oh, no. Oh, I know that tone, that’s a bad news tone.”

“That’s a transmatter portal.” J’onn said. “A way to travel instantly between worlds.”

Winn stared at the portal, now transfixed by it.

“Oh… my… God. It’s Stargate.” Winn said. “Wait, does that mean that-“

“Yeah. Like Brainy said, he and Kara are on another planet. We just have to figure out which one.”

~  
Kara and Querl sat in a tent, as the alien who’d shot at them was preparing what looked like a stew over a fire.

“It’s Thanagarian snarebeast.” Querl said.

“And, what, we’re the next course?”

“No.” Querl said. “At least, I don’t think we are.”

“Jo Gunraf does not eat bipeds.” The alien- Jo, now, apparently- answered.

“So you speak English?”

“Oh, yes. Jo dissected a human once.”

“Of course he did.”

“Learned your tongue.” Jo continued, making a disgusted noise. “Hideous pink thing.”

“Eh, Jo- Jo, is it?” Kara asked.

The alien nodded, and Kara stood up.

“We promise, we are not here to hurt you.” She said, trying to sound comforting, before reaching into a pocket over the shoulder of her cape, and pulling out the missing persons sign she’d gotten for Izzy. “We just… we want to help this girl.”

Jo took the sign, and examined it.

“They brought her through portal.” He said, looking up at Kara, who now seemed relieved. “They took her to the Red Fortress, where they sell carbon forms like you. Sell them like animals.”

Kara now wasn’t as relieved, and Querl was just as nervous.

“They’ve been kidnapping those people and selling them as slaves.” Kara said.

“Slaving is a big business on Maaldoria.” Jo continued.

“This is Maaldoria.” Querl said, standing up now. It had been one of his possibilities, but he was glad to have it confirmed, at least.

“You know where we are?” Kara asked him.

“Yes. In the future- and now, I presume- the locals call it Slavers’ Moon.” He said. “I’ve been on several missions to infiltrate it and free its prisoners.”

 _It’s been shut down each of those times, but someone always starts using it again,_ he thought. _And apparently nothing had changed before my time, either._

“Well, you’ve gotten out alive each of those times, otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Kara answered. “So we should be fine, right?”

“I certainly hope so.” Querl said.

“Alright.” Kara answered, determined. “Good. We’re going to find the people we came here for.”

“No finding girl. Fortress bad.” Jo cut in. “Many weapons. No way out. No way in...”

“Some things do never change.” Querl said. “We will make a plan. Right, Kara?”

“Yes.” Kara agreed. “And, there is one way.”

~  
Kara and Querl, now seeming to be prisoners, were escorted into the fortress, with guards at the door and a crowd of aliens inside ready to shoot at them.

“We surrender!” Kara said, putting her hands up, as Querl did the same. They were brought to a chamber with what seemed like an invisible forcefield in place of a door, as the doctor who’d brought them here in the first place had to open it to let them in and close it afterwards.

The guards left, as Kara and Querl watched.

“At least we’ve got them right where we want them.” Querl said.

Kara nodded, but she turned around then, eyes searching until she located the girl she’d been searching for. The girl with a mother waiting at home, desperate for her daughter to come back to her.

“Izzy?” Kara asked. “Are you Izzy Williams?”

“Supergirl, you… You know who I am?” Izzy said.

“Your mother is looking for you.”

“You know my mother?”

“Uh, uh… a friend of mine is a reporter, and… your mother persuaded her to find out what happened to you. And she told me, and that’s why I’m here.”

“You can save us; you can just knock down the walls.” Izzy answered, looking at her in wonder.

Other people seemed to have overheard, as they came up to Kara.

“You’re gonna get us all home!” one man said.

Kara hated to let anyone down. To her, each person she saved- each person she was going to save- was a light, and that idea gave her the strength to continue, as she promised herself she would help keep those lights shining. She would keep Rao’s fire burning, in this city and in her heart, and she wanted to make sure nobody lost hope in her or what she stood for.

But though it wasn’t a part of her motto, she still had to tell people the truth about her abilities. Even she wasn’t a god, and couldn’t do miracles just because the city believed in her.

“I can’t.” Kara answered, looking around at the crowd. “I don’t have my powers on this planet.”

They murmured amongst themselves, seeming shocked.

“But I will help you. All of you.” She said. “I promise.”

“Supergirl in my cage again.” Someone said afterwards. Kara turned to see none other than Roulette, still in her red dress with her hair in an elaborate hairdo, snake tattoos adorning her. She wore some kind of black coat over the dress this time, but she looked no less glamourous for it.

“Roulette?”

“We have got to stop meeting like this.”

~

“Have you found the Transmat’s terminus?”

“Yeah.” Winn said. “Ionization trail leads to the Arcturus system, planet 51, arc B.”

“That’s Maaldoria.” J’onn said. “The heart of the intergalactic slave trade.”

“That’s bad.” Alex stated, as though it weren’t obvious.

“I’m afraid it gets worse.”

“Define worse.”

“Arcturus is a red sun.” J’onn answered.

“So she doesn’t have any of her powers.” Alex said, coming closer to him, looking more distressed. “I should’ve gone with her. Why didn’t I go with her?”

“You didn’t know this was gonna happen, Alex.”

“Hey! We have the Martian Manhunter, right?” Winn asked, trying to bring the mood up, as he clapped J’onn on the back. “He doesn’t need a yellow sun. He’ll go in there, and he’ll get them, and then everything will be okay.”

“I can’t join this rescue mission.” J’onn said.

“Exactly. Wait, what?”

“The air on Maaldoria is toxic to Martians.” He continued. “Some kind of silicate in the atmosphere. I can’t help Kara and Brainy, I’m sorry.”

Alex sighed, too anxious to think of another solution.

But, at least, she was comforted by the sight of her girlfriend in the DEO, and as she led Maggie away, Winn and J’onn went back to work.

~

“Well, if this isn’t déjà vu.” Roulette said, smirking at the sight of Kara, caged.

“Why are you here?” Kara asked.

“Yes.” Querl said. “I would like to know that too.”

“I’m here because of you.” Roulette answered. “You dismantled my club. I had nowhere else to go. So imagine my excitement when one of my fighters told me about Slavers’ Moon. I jumped at the opportunity to expand its market.”

“You are treating this like-“ Kara was almost at a loss for words, in disbelief at how casual she sounded. “…like you’re selling coffee! You- you are selling _people_!”

“I’ve taken human trafficking to the next level.” Roulette said. “These are prime specimens that can survive a lifetime of labor. They’re good stock, and they’ll sell for top dollar.”

“It’s blood money.”

“Blood diamonds, actually.” Roulette corrected. “This planet’s lousy with them. They’re like dirt to these Maaldorians.”

Right then, the doctor from earlier came in, alongside…

“Oh, man, I hate these guys.” Kara said, looking up at the Dominator who was approaching the cage.

“So do I.” Querl answered.

The Dominator spoke in a language Kara didn’t understand, and she looked over at Querl.

“Can you translate that?”

Querl shook his head, and Roulette approached the group again.

“Good news, everybody!” she said, as though this wasn’t a planet where most of those who heard her weren’t being enslaved. “You’ve all been sold.”

~

“We only had time to fabricate the one.” J’onn said, handing the weapon to Alex. “It won’t last long, so make it count.”

“I will.” Alex answered.

“Bring our girl home.”

Alex nodded.

“Winn.” She said, approaching him. 

“Okay, so this should open the transmat on the other side.” He said, giving another device to her.

“Yeah, well, keep it. You’re coming with me.” Alex insisted.

“No, um, yeah, this is… pre-programmed.” Winn answered. “Uh, so you just hit the button, and you’re thinking with portals, right? You don’t need me.”

_Nobody does._

“Yeah, no.” Alex said. “I want your hands at the controls.”

“No, no.” Winn said, drawing out his words.

“Agent Schott, she wasn’t asking you.” J’onn said. “That’s an order.”

“I’m sorry.” Winn continued, before starting to walk away.

“Winn?”

Alex caught up to him, as he held up a hand in defense of himself.

“I’m sorry, I’m not gonna be of any help to you out there.” He said. “I mean…”

He gestured to himself, before pushing up one sleeve of his hoodie, and then pointing to his black eye.

“Okay fine, this- I wasn’t mugged.” He said, sounding nervous. “Alright, I was trying to help Guardian and I- if he’d showed up two seconds later, I don’t-“

Alex knew what it felt like to be powerless. To not feel like she was worth anything, especially in comparison to her sister, the golden child. Always doing her best to make her parents proud, while taking the majority of the blame whenever Kara messed up or being expected to clean up Kara’s messes. She knew her parents were proud of her, and loved her no matter what, but… when living with someone who could laser your hair off and use super-speed to block you on your way to the bathroom (and those were the most mundane uses of her powers) everything she did seemed inadequate.

And even during college, when she felt burnt-out, doing so much again under the weight of those ever-present expectations. That she’d both gotten from her parents and, by then, set for herself. She had to be responsible for other people, in the medical career she’d chosen, with their lives in her hands- and then, as an agent of the DEO, she still had to keep her sister safe as she always did, despite her own humanity. She was giving so much of herself away, devoting her time and attention to so many other things, that she hardly felt like there was anything left. She was tired, in some way before, as much as she loved her sister, as much as she loved her career, and during those rare moments when she was happy (like her new relationship, before she felt like she was paying more attention to Maggie than her own sister and so had to find out she’d disappeared from someone else), it didn’t take much to knock her down.

Winn, though not going through a career change and a new relationship, had to have similar expectations set on him. His goal, as she’d learned from Kara, was to not be like his father- to avoid the path set for him by his “ticking time bomb” genes. And moving from Catco to the DEO, going from being an underappreciated IT specialist to a valued part of Team Supergirl along with a friend and partner to James in his vigilante activities, must have felt like an upgrade already from what his father had went through. Unlike Winslow Senior, Winn had friends. He had family, who cared about him, and would never try to take his achievements away from him or betray him in any way. And now, in a position he liked, after a period of feeling so valued, to be reminded of his vulnerability in such a strong and unpleasant way… well, it just really sucked.

“Hey.” Alex said, trying to get him to focus. “Hey. Kara needs you, I- I need you.”

“I’m- scared.” Winn answered, the word forcing itself out of him.

“You don’t think I was afraid the first time I went out in the field? Dude, I was terrified.” Alex said. “But no one gets better by running away.”

Winn watched her, wordlessly, and she could only hope she’d gotten through to him- because Kara and Querl needed them both to get out alive.

~

“Okay, listen.” Kara said, addressing the prisoners. “I know that you’re all scared. But we’re going to find a way out of here. Don’t worry.”

Brainy gestured for her, and she walked over to him.

“You have a plan, right? I mean, you said you’ve been here before. Probably in this exact situation.”

“Yes, on the most dangerous planet in the galaxy… but while the outline of the situation is the same, the variables- the specific details- are different. For example, I have never been here alongside only a Kryptonian, as well as the inevitable prisoners I’m meant to rescue, and of course my captors.”

“Oh.” Kara said.

“But I do appreciate your optimism.” Querl answered. “And rest assured, I will figure out something.”

“Thanks. They’re going to be counting on that- they need us. But you were aware of that already.”

“I was. Thank you for the reminder, though.”

“No problem. It’s what heroes do.”

“Give reminders of each other’s strengths?”

Kara gave him a gentle smile.

“That, and fight even when things seem impossible.” She said. “Even when your own world has been destroyed, or you’re a thousand years away from everything you’ve ever known, you never give in. We’re here for a reason, with the responsibility that that carries- but you knew that already.”

_I certainly am._

“I do.” He said. “And I could not agree more.”

“Time to go, Earthlings!” Announced the doctor, arriving in front of the cell and opening the cell door.

Kara and Querl stood in front of the other prisoners, hands finding one another.

“Move!” the doctor ordered, as two of his guards had their guns pointed at Kara.

Kara squeezed Querl’s hand.

 _Let me pay the price for this,_ she thought. _I don’t want you hurt._

 _You’re Earth’s hero in this century,_ he thought as he stepped back, though still remaining by her side as he let her hand go, and she put her arms out, defending him and the rest of the prisoners. _I trust you. Do what you must._

The doctor gestured for the guards, and they immediately moved on Kara, their weapons shocking her and causing her to cry out as they pressed them into her torso.

But still, Kara didn’t relent, standing back up again.

“Move!” the doctor again insisted.

“No.” Kara said, and she was shocked once more, this time being forced to her knees.

“Hit her again.” The doctor commanded, and she was, even as she was pushed to the ground.

“Let’s go!” Izzy said, seizing the moment the guards were distracted, and the other prisoners went running, as Querl took on the guards, using his differential calculus to avoid their blows and make them hit one another with their large guns. The doctor and Roulette, meanwhile, could only watch as their precious cargo ran out on them, and their guards lay unconscious on the floor of their cell.

Izzy, even as she had helped get everyone out, stayed behind, as she and Querl helped Kara up.

“You didn’t give up, so neither will we.” She said.

“Thank you.” Answered Kara. “Let’s get them in the cell.”

Seeing that they were on the losing side of this battle, Roulette and the doctor reluctantly went into it.

“You can stand right there.” Querl said, addressing the doctor, and Roulette only rolled her eyes as she, the doctor, and the guards were sealed inside.

“Well, now what?”

“Now, we get the hell out of here!” Kara answered. “Go, go!”

~  
Alex and Winn entered the transmatter portal, and flanked by several other agents, came out the other side on Maaldoria. Alex held a gun, eyes trained on the area around her, on guard for anything that could be hostile. Winn, meanwhile, looked scared- but at least he had made it through.

At least he wasn’t throwing up, or didn’t die immediately upon leaving Earth and stepping foot on a different planet, or didn’t get stuck somewhere in the middle of Earth and Maaldoria, lost forever in the space between spaces and unable to be useful to anyone ever again.

All of which he’d had nightmares about, whenever he dreamt about going to different planets regardless of whether he had to or not.

“Outer space.” Winn said, taking it all in. “I… am in outer space.”

“And if you don’t wanna stay in outer space forever, then figure out how to dial us home.” Alex answered, pointing back at the console behind Winn. It seemed to be raining on Maaldoria, Alex’s hair looked damp but she was no less intimidating. “I’m tracking Kara through her earpiece. Make sure this thing is open by the time we come back.”

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait, come… come back?” Winn asked, a little bit lost for words.

“Yeah! You’ll be fine!” Alex insisted, waving him off. Then she and the other agents proceeded onward, leaving Winn behind.

“I am not a redshirt.” Winn said, in disbelief after being left alone. “I am not a redshirt. I am not a redshirt.”

He went off to the console, knowing he was going to fix it and that he would definitely not let Kara or Alex (or even Brainy) down.

And knowing, still, that he was most definitely not (would never let himself be) a redshirt in this weird science fiction drama show that was his life.

~

When Kara, Querl, and the prisoners continued running from the guards (with Kara and Querl leading the others through, taking turns while the other held the guards off), there was already a struggle going on in the entrance hall of the fortress.

Or rather, there had been one, as evidenced by the rubble surrounding them and the unconscious guards with their fallen weapons, as well as the still-standing DEO agents, and-

“We know her!”

Alex rushed into Kara’s arms, taking the chance to hug her sister before doing anything else.

“You found us.”

“Always.” Alex answered. “We gotta hurry up, Winn’s waiting for us.”

“Wait, you brought Winn? To space?”

“Yeah, he volunteered.” Alex said.

~

“Oh. That did not happen like it was supposed to happen.” Winn said, as the portal came to life, then turned off again. “Okay, sh-“

He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence, as he was grabbed by an alien, and it began to punch him before he could fight back. Winn was soon on his back, a gun pointed at him.

_Not a redshirt, not a redshirt…_

He reached up and kicked the gun out of the alien’s hand, and got up again, beginning to punch back, before hitting them with a rock and sending them to the ground.

“Ha!” Winn exclaimed, arms going up as he could celebrate his tentative victory now. “I’m not the red shirt! I’m not the red shirt!”

He then began to taunt his opponent, in a way that was very unsportsmanlike but so, so satisfying.

“You! You’re the red shirt!” he said.

“Winn!” Kara called, running towards him with a group of DEO agents and civilians behind her.

“Supergirl! Look!” he exclaimed, frantically pointing at the downed alien. “I’m a badass!”

“That is great! But you need to activate the portal!” Querl said.

Winn did, and after scooping up some alien dirt into his pocket (he could start a collection with that), he, Alex, Querl and Kara herded the rest of the agents and civilians through.

But there was one other person there, with a gun over their shoulder, who approached peacefully.

“Jo help carbon forms.” He said. “Carbon forms help Jo get off planet forever?”

“Yes!” Kara answered. “Yes, yes, and carbon forms agree. Just, go.”

“Hello. Hello.” Jo said, greeting Alex and Querl, before going through.

“Winn. Winn.” Kara said afterwards. “There’s a big spaceship, go-“

Kara practically pushed him through, and he went willingly.

“Oh-“

“Sprock.” Querl said.

“Supergirl!” Izzy cried out, as one of the Maaldorians grabbed her and began to carry her away. “Please! Help!”

“Izzy!”

Kara ran after her, and Querl hoped she would be able to succeed as Alex pulled out what looked like a grenade.

“Let’s hope this thing works.” She said, before throwing the grenade at her sister. “Here comes the sun.”

The whole world went bright then, showering that part of the planet in a golden light that almost blinded even Alex and Querl, as it washed over Kara.

Then Kara was flying, looking every part the angel Querl thought of her as (though he of course thought of her in that way in any case, especially when she was defending people and saving lives without her Kryptonian abilities), bathed in what seemed to be yellow sunlight.

“That is a yellow sun grenade.” Querl said.

“Sure is.” Alex said, smiling. “Little taste of home.”

Kara breathed it in, feeling the strength coming back to her, bringing warmth to every part of her body. Her confidence renewed, she shot heat vision beams at the ship overhead, causing it to explode.

“Nice.” Alex and Querl said, in unison.

Her eyes glowed again as she turned to the alien holding Izzy, and the alien soon ran away, as Kara led Izzy to the portal.

She went through first, then Alex and Querl, and after looking around once more, Kara left Maaldoria behind her for good.

Then, once arriving on Earth, she destroyed the console, making sure nothing was going to follow her and the others. Roulette might not have been brought to justice on Earth, but she was somewhere she couldn’t exploit anyone again, and returning to her home would be a long and difficult journey.

Needless to say, she and the other Maaldorians (minus Jo) wouldn’t be going back to Earth anytime soon, and that was a cause for celebration from Kara.

She hugged Izzy, glad she was home safe, as the other civilians and agents there burst into cheers and applause. J’onn was there too, waiting for them, looking at his team proudly.

“Thanks for the recharge.” Kara said, hand on Alex’s shoulder as she stood in a loose circle with her, Querl, Winn, and J’onn.

“Aww, well it was all this guy’s idea.” Alex deferred, pointing at J’onn.

“Couldn’t make the trip myself, so I thought I’d send a little sun along.” He said. “Welcome home, Supergirl.”

“Thanks, J’onn.” She answered as they hugged. In her peripheral vision, she could see Winn hugging Brainy, too.

“Earth… smells funny.” Jo said, sniffing the air before looking over at Kara. “Always smell like this?”

Kara laughed, putting her face in her hands, as Winn only stared at him, confused.

~  
Querl spent most of the next day resting at the DEO, as even though the red sun hadn’t hurt him Alex figured it would still do him good to relax. James had simply emailed him his work, which he’d done, and he had also gotten the chance to read Kara’s article about Slaver’s Moon.

(Which, in his absolutely unbiased opinion, was excellent. She should be proud of herself, for exposing what went on there, and following up on it, making sure the trafficking was gone for good. And, especially, for reuniting these prisoners with their families.)

(He’d seen that joy for himself, attempting to live vicariously through those people. It was always fulfilling, even if the experience of escape was dangerous and risky.

That was just what made it worth his time and effort.)

But he was well enough to make the trip to Kara’s apartment that evening, and when she opened the door, he was standing there with a bottle of club soda.

“Hi.”

“Hello.” He answered. “You look cozy and comfortable.”

Kara smiled. She was wearing a loose sweater, as well as what looked like a soft shirt and some kind of soft pants.

“So, are you still feeling betwixt and between?” he asked, as she led him into her apartment.

“No, not anymore. I feel amazing.” She said. “What brings you by?”

She turned off the TV that had been playing, and she and Querl sat down on the couch together. She pulled the blanket over herself, first, before offering the other half of it to Querl, and he took it, spreading it over him too.

“Oh, you know… little shopping, maybe an evening stroll… well, actually… I just wanted to talk. Make sure you were okay.”

“Thanks, I am.” Kara said. “What about you, are you doing okay? You said you’d been to Maaldoria before, and you reacted to that Dominator like you’d met them. Did this thing bring back any… painful memories?”

_Not any that are real._

“Not particularly.” Querl answered. “And if there were any, I believe seeing the prisoners return to Earth safe and sound- as has happened, during my time with the Legion- would make them feel obsolete. And your heroism during this time in particular is something I will never forget.”

“Thanks.” Kara said, feeling her face grow flushed at his compliment. “I realized that we haven’t gotten to talk, really, about… about us. What happened while you were sick.”

“Yes.” He agreed. “I... apologize. For what I said, if it made things awkward between us. You do not have to do anything in response…”

“But I want to.” Kara answered. “I do really like you- you’re a hero too, obviously, and you’re smart, and nothing like your family. And I want to have… a career, and a relationship, in addition to being Supergirl, which I’m so sure about… so I think we should work on this together. Finding a balance, for both of us.”

“Finding a balance.” Querl repeated. “Yes. You inspire me, you always have, and I will do whatever it takes to continue helping you keep the world spinning, just as I did when I was less alone.”

Kara took his hand.

“You’re not alone anymore.” She said. He squeezed her hand, smiling at her. “And whatever happens, I’ll help you too.”

~  
_On Maaldoria_

“May I help you?” the Maaldorian who’d disguised himself as a human doctor said, staring at the two hooded figures who’d beamed down to his planet.

One of them showed the Maaldorian a holographic image of Querl.

“He’s not here.” He said. “He left.”

“Where? Where is Querl Dox, of Colu?”

“…Earth. He’s gone to Earth.”

The figures seemed satisfied with that response, and the Maaldorian screamed as the figure who hadn’t spoken fired their gun, obliterating him into nothing.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I don't know how to feel about this one? (probably helps that this episode wasn't really a favorite of mine either.)
> 
> But then again of course it might just be me spending too much time over-analyzing everything. So please let me know what you think!

Kara and Querl stood side-by-side, in their superhero outfits, as the drone activated and the targets sprung up behind it and two stone blocks.

“You ready?” Kara asked him.

“Born ready.” He said, and they started running, both vaulting over the blocks and protecting the targets from the drone. Kara shot it and blew it up with her heat vision, and smiled up at it in satisfaction.

“Impressive.”

Kara shrugged, still smiling.

Two more targets popped up, one looking exactly like J’onn.

“You really captured J’onn’s most-used facial expression.” Querl said. “The resemblance is uncanny.”

Another drone came in, interrupting their break, and this time Querl sprang into action, connecting to the drone and causing it to blow itself up, as it crashed into a wall.

“End simulation.” Kara called.

Querl climbed back over the stone barrier, and Kara helped him up.

“No cardboard fatalities, again.” She said. “I’m starting to think you exaggerated how rusty you were in combat.”

“I only haven’t had as much field experience.” Querl answered, holding her hand for longer than necessary. “And I do want that to change, even if you are also present with me.”

“Yeah, me too.” Kara said.

“I’m also sorry I haven’t done so until now, even though we’ve trained.”

Kara placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s okay, I get it.” She said. “I mean, you were captured by Cadmus, then you got sick, then we were on a different planet… not much opportunities to fight. But I did see you on Slaver’s Moon, and… wow. What exactly do you call that, the dodging, and getting people to hit each other? That was really cool.”

“Differential calculus. Combined with what I’ve learned from a couple of my friends, it allows me to predict where my opponent will move next, and the optimal reaction in response to such a movement.” He answered.

“Well, I did start learning calculus when I was 4.” Kara said. “Not to brag, or anything. But can you teach me?”

“I see no reason why not.” Querl answered. “Do you want to try another simulation?”

_One that does not involve myself taking a bullet for you and dying in your arms, as you tell me I’m a true hero and I tell you you’re where I learned that from?_

“I think you might want to change first.” Kara told him, pointing at where he’d torn one of the sleeves of his T-shirt and cut his arm during the previous one.

“Alright.”

“But otherwise, I think we’re ready.”

~

Querl was monitoring the activity on Winn’s computer screen while Winn slept, as James came into the van.

Winn mumbled something, pulling himself back into consciousness, when James took his helmet off, taking a bit more time and effort to do so than usual.

“Whoa, wait, are you hurt?” he asked.

“You weren’t watching?”

“Yeah, sure I was. Smash… smash and shoot shoot.” Winn said, miming such movements at the screen.

“He fell asleep, I was watching.” Querl answered.

“Wow, _thanks_ for throwing me under the bus like that.” Winn complained.

“You wouldn’t deny it.” Querl said, before he turned back towards James. “And I am sorry, that you did get hurt.”

“Yeah, the last one got a little complicated.” James said.

It was then that Winn noticed the wound on his arm, that had ripped through the suit.

That, certainly, made him wake up more.

“Wait. That’s a bullet hole. That’s a _bullet hole_ , in a suit I made.” He said. “A suit that Brainy and I made, sorry.”

“It is no problem.”

_It’s very clearly a problem. And it’s one more reason I’m a failure._

“It just grazed my arm.” James deferred.

“Did you get shot?”

“I’m a little shot.”

Winn was fed up, and Querl did not blame him.

“No, that is it. That’s it, we’re telling Kara.”

“Would you please calm down?”

Winn definitely didn’t want to hear anything of the sort.

“No, dude, I can’t- I can’t do this anymore. Alright, if there’s a flaw in your suit, that means the suit is faulty, which means that I have to go fix it. And that already on top of me making a new suit for Brainy- You still want that, right? Purple with yellow boots, like you described your old suit before it was mysteriously incinerated? Or purple and black? Or blue and black, like that dress that you insisted on saying is gold and white?”

“I would prefer purple or blue, yes.” Querl said. “And I would like yellow boots, but the true design for the suit is up to you. Surprise me. But please do not make me look ridiculous.”

“I would never!”

“Please. No, as you referred to them, “booty shorts”, Winslow. No matter how attractive you thought they looked on me when I showed you the holo-collection of those images.”

Winn sighed, before finally relenting.

“Fine. Even though you’d rock them."

"And I would rather you put my suit’s design on hold, and devote more of your time to fixing James’s suit.”

“How about you fix my suit, Brainy, so Winn can focus on yours?” James asked. “You know it just as much as he does.”

“I do, yes.” Querl said.

“Good, because Winn is tired.” Winn answered. “Especially of lying to Kara. It’s got to stop.”

“Yes, that is quite exhausting.” Querl said, eyes downcast.

“Yeah, no kidding, you’ve got a huge crush on her.” Winn said. “Actually, we all have, at one point or another. And unlike both of us, yours seems like it’s actually going to go somewhere. But that’s not the point. Maybe she’s going to be totally cool with this! We don’t know. We’ve all worked together before, she totally respects what you do and could even be grateful for your help. Seriously, this is officially the first time I’ve ever asked you for something.”

“I’ll talk to her tomorrow.” James finally answered.

Winn sighed in relief.

“Thank you.”

“But… it’s not tomorrow yet, is it?” he pointed out. “So one more?”

“Just one.” Querl said. “I will keep track.”

“Thanks, buddy.” Winn answered, patting his shoulder. “This is why I’m glad you’re a part of the team.”

~  
“This is the villain who escaped from prison last night?” Querl answered, as he mentally pulled up the DEO’s file on Leslie Willis.

“Yes.” Winn said. “Lady and gentlemen, may I introduce to you, the one, the only, _Livewire?”_ he asked, pointing at the screen with a flourish before walking over to the screen, and coming back around again. “Who knows what havoc she will wreak when she resurfaces? Maybe she’ll turn all our girlfriends evil again. I don’t know, we’re talking about full on rats in the attic here, people, except the rats are electrified and the attic is on fire! Behold, ye mighty, and _despair.”_

“Do you understand what he’s referring to?” Querl asked, leaning over the table.

“It’s in her file.” Kara said. “But other than that… I don’t know either.”

“That is comforting. What is our plan of attack, when facing a villain such as her? That is to say, I know how I would deal with her in my future. In fact, one of my friends used that codename. But with your century’s weapons, and Kara’s abilities, what would you do?”

“Well, first of all, this is serious. Livewire is despicable, I mean she should’ve never been in a human facility to begin with. All the human parts of her are… buried so deep as to practically be nonexistent. But she should’ve been here, where we could make sure that she didn’t get out!”

Kara had placed her hand on the top of a computer monitor during the last part, and under her hand, the corner of the monitor folded and broke, sending up sparks.

“I will fix that.” Querl said.

“Good.” J’onn answered. “That’s expensive.”

“And Kara, I understand that you are concerned.” Querl continued. “That is good. But also, you should be proud of your accomplishments. You’ve already defeated her twice.”

“She still brings death and destruction.” J’onn pointed out. “We should stay on guard.”

Kara, Querl and Winn looked at him in understanding, before Alex came in and told J’onn she needed him, bringing him out of the command center.

“How’s she doing?” Kara asked.

 _Right, yes, M’Gann._ Querl remembered. He’d visited her, done his best to talk to her and remind her she wasn’t alone, but he hadn’t anticipated the visions she was reported to have had, or that she was able to shatter the glass in her cell. He wanted to check on her, see if there was anything he could do for her himself, but he knew also that Alex and J’onn were doing the best they could.

Winn just sighed.

~

James was pouring a drink, when Kara came into his office.

“Hey, thanks for coming. I, um… want to tell you something.”

“Yeah, me too.” Kara said, holding onto the chair like she was going to break it. “I- I am _losing my mind_ right now. Livewire’s just… out there, roaming the streets, and I don’t know where she is, or when she’ll strike, I just know she’s out there, somewhere, and she’s gonna hurt people.”

“The city’s not defenseless, Kara.”

“I hate having a nemesis. I mean, okay, I may have only fought her two times, but she’s like… who I could’ve become, working for Cat. This is more personal. Clark makes it look so much fun, like a deadly pen pal you see once a year, but having a nemesis is stressful.”

“Well, you’re not alone, in this fight.” James pointed out. _“‘El Mayarah’,_ wasn’t it? You have friends, you have help, and you’re not the only hero in National City.”

Kara gave him a grateful smile.

“Yeah, that’s a good point.” She said. “Yeah! Yes, that is actually such a relief.”

“Well, I for one am relieved to hear you say that.” James answered.

“I- I mean, you’re right, I don’t have to face her alone.”

“Absolutely not.”

“I have Brainy.”

“Brainy?”

“Yeah!”

“Right. The guy from the future, who’s only really been in one fight since arriving in this time.”

“I did see him kick some ass when we were trapped on Slaver’s Moon.” Kara said. “And I’ve trained with him, just to make sure he wasn’t that rusty with his powers. He’s more than ready. Not to mention he’s so smart, and good at adapting, he’s sensitive, he’s cute… he is a true hero, most importantly. I trust him.”

“More than you trust the Guardian?”

“I’d trust him more if I knew who he was.” Kara answered. “If I could get to know him, and his motives.”

“That’s true, but how much do you really know about Brainy, or his motives?”

“I know enough. I mean, he’s a Brainiac who hates his family and wants to make a difference, of course he has enough good motive to be a superhero.”

“And there are others who also want to make a difference.” James said. “And put themselves on the line for others.”

“Like the Guardian.”

James nodded.

“I’m going to think about that.” Kara said. “I mean… he just has a different approach to things. But maybe that’s a good thing- like you said, maybe he and I- and Brainy- could be stronger together. I’m sorry, what did you want to tell me? I just bulldozed all over you.”

“It’s okay, I just wanted to catch up.” James said.

But before he could complete his sentence, there was a news report on one of the monitors behind him, detailing what looked to be an attack by Livewire.

“I gotta go.” They said together, and both left the office from different places.

~  
Kara and Querl arrived together at the crime scene, with Livewire standing there waiting for them. In lieu of a proper costume at the moment, Querl was only wearing a black trenchcoat with a DEO-issued plain black shirt and pants, as well as sunglasses.

“Give it up, Leslie.” Kara said. “We’ve done this before; same thing always happens. I win, you lose.”

“I’m not Leslie.” She answered, and with a burst of electricity from one of the lamps overhead, someone else appeared.

“Is that Leslie?”

Kara didn’t look fazed.

“You protect the cops; I can handle these guys.” She said.

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine. Just help them!”

 _That is a good plan. Electricity and Coluans… do not mix well, as you’ve seen,_ he thought. He indeed did his best to protect the police officers who were there, shielding them from the electricity and making sure they could get out, as Kara continued to fight the two not-Livewires.

“Stay with the cops.” Kara said, when one of them forced her to her knees, wrapping an energy whip around her wrists.

Querl did, and stood in front of them- and just as he continued doing so, Guardian arrived, helping him as they both now encouraged the officers to move.

One of the not-Livewires still fired at James, though, and Kara tried to contain the not-Livewires by making water from a pipe overhead pour down on them using her heat vision, but they escaped through the light fixtures before she could.

“They got away.” Kara said.

“Yes, but you did the best you could. And I did stay with the cops.”

Kara sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.” She answered. “I just didn’t expect that he’d show up.”

She gestured to Guardian, who was lying on the ground still.

“We should make sure he’s okay.”

Kara nodded, and went over to James, slowly removing his helmet.

“James.” She said, once she could see his face. “Oh.”

Suddenly, their conversation before made a whole lot more sense.

~  
Alex had James sitting down, shining a light in his eyes and making sure he was able to follow it. She… didn’t know what to feel about this situation, even as Brainy was asking him about his motorcycle and telling him that he didn’t need one since he had the Legion ring, but if he did want a twenty-first century vehicle (as primitive as it was, he’d said) he would want something like that.

Winn, meanwhile, was sitting silently off to the side, but all four of them in the room at that time gave Kara their full attention when she stormed in, accordingly falling silent.

“…It’s a cool suit.” She said, finally. “Yours?”

That was directed at Winn and Querl, who both nodded sheepishly.

“I was gonna tell you.”

“I told him to tell you last night.”

“As did I. I insisted his secret was his to tell, and he could tell you when he was ready.”

“And I told you three to tell her way before, weeks ago.” Alex cut in.

“Wait, you all knew?” Kara asked.

“…Yes.” Querl said. “I apologize, for keeping such a secret.”

_And others, that are truly my secrets to tell._

James cleared his throat.

“Kara, this is really between us.” He said. “Not them.”

“You’re right.” Kara answered. “Can we have a minute, please?”

Alex, Winn, and Querl filed out of the room, leaving Kara (as she’d wanted) with James.

“I am calm.” She said. “I am going to listen to you, I owe you that much. But you need to tell me why.”

James looked up at her, eyes pleading for her to understand.

“That thing you feel, that thing that makes you want to make everything better, I feel that too.” He said. “I’ve felt it ever since I became friends with Superman- before, even. I’ve tried so many different ways, got caught up in Superman’s world and that didn’t work. Became a turtle once because of him, if you can believe it… became Lex’s target because of him, that was a far less fun story. And I’m doing what I can at Catco, but… I also want to be a hero for everyone. For the little kids growing up in National City right now who look like me and hope they can be heroes too. For people and cases that even Supergirl and the NCPD might not get to, for whatever reason- no offense.”

“None taken.”

“I… I just want to help people, Kara. Isn’t that enough?”

He stood up, then, as Kara was processing his words, trying to think of a response.

“Now look. I don’t think I was ever meant to be in Superman’s shadow. Or yours. I’m still trying to figure myself out, as Guardian, but when I am him, I feel free. Moreso than I do as James Olsen, CEO of Catco. Kara, we are the same.”

“Not exactly.” She said. “You may have this special suit, but you have to think of the consequences. If you mess up, make one mistake- one human error- you’re going to get yourself killed. That’s it- no strikes, no second chances, no coming back- not like me, or even Brainy apparently. He tells me he has a back-up disc; I haven’t seen it yet. But anyway. If you die while trying to protect others, while you can’t even protect yourself- just think about that.”

“I know I’m never going to be strong enough for this.” James said. “I know I’m just human, and I don’t get my strength from the yellow sun, like you and Clark. But I still want to make a difference, no matter how short that means my life will be. I live in this city, on this planet, too, and I have as much right to help protect it as you, or Clark, or J’onn, or Brainy. You alone do not get to decide who’s a hero. And who are you, to tell me how to be? Or who to be?”

He paused, before finishing with, “I am meant for this.”

“Make sure you know what you’re really getting into.” Kara said. “And be careful.”

“Don’t worry. If Brainy and Winn couldn’t make my suit so perfect that nobody can touch me, no one can.” James answered, trying to smile. Kara knew he wanted to lift the tension in the room, but… she was still worried, and still thought, heroism aside, that he might have had a death wish.

He turned and left, then, giving Kara time to collect her thoughts, and worry even more.

~  
“Hey, hey wait!”

Querl turned around, noticing Kara catching up to him. She was wearing civilian clothes now, and he stopped.

“We need to talk.” She said.

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s nothing bad. It’s just… I trust you.” Kara said. “I might not always have- but I do. You protected the people, you’re a good partner. And more than that, you’re… you’re a part of my family now, and I just also want you to be safe, and careful. I know you are, obviously, Clark’s sung your praises enough when we’ve texted… but… I really, really like you, Brainy. I don’t want to have to give the Legion your dead body, because someone decided to hurt you to get to me.”

“Is this about what happened in Cadmus?”

“Cadmus, you getting sick, Slaver’s Moon- all of it.” Kara answered. “It’s enough for someone to want to ground you to the DEO, just to make sure nothing else happens.”

_That may not be enough._

“So, would you like for me to return there, right now?”

“No. I’m going to track down Livewire and her soldiers, because someone has to, and I’m the only one who understands that. And there’s nobody I’d rather have with me.”

“Very well then.” He said. “Let’s go.”

~  
When J’onn told Winn to roll the latest footage of Livewire, Kara and Querl were already waiting for it in the command center.

On the screen, there was Livewire- or someone who looked like her, but her face wasn’t visible- being escorted down a hall by two guards, who seemed to have hurt her before throwing a bag over her head.

“Now, I’m no jailbreak expert… although maybe, thanks to genetics, I should be…” Winn started. “But-“

“Livewire didn’t escape. She was taken.”

“She was a victim.” Kara said, still staring up at the footage. “I was wrong.”

“Based on your previous experiences, that is understandable.” Querl answered. “But just because you were wrong in this case, doesn’t mean you cannot learn from this. And you can still rectify your mistake.”

Kara nodded, barely smiling at him.

“Agent Schott, did you have any luck in tracking Livewire with the people who took her?” J’onn asked.

“Not yet, I’m actually having some trouble delineating her energy from other wavelengths.” Winn said. He was clearly tired, but didn’t intend to give up any time soon.

“Then keep working.” J’onn said. “Brainy, help Winn. Supergirl, I need you in the medbay.”

Querl sat down, exchanging glances with Kara, and she left with J’onn.

Just as she did, however, Winn got a call, and Querl followed him as he left the command center.

“…Funny thing about that, I totally know where Livewire is.” Winn said. “You want to go catch her and show Supergirl exactly what we can do?”

Querl couldn’t hear James’s response, but whatever it was made Winn smile, and Querl continued to follow him out to the van he’d become so familiar with lately.

~  
Querl entered through one of the windows in the power plant, and landed inside with such force as to knock the not-Livewires both to the ground, one hitting the other.

“The hell are _you_ supposed to be?” Livewire- the real one- asked him.

“I’m- well, I don’t think I’m supposed to say that.” Querl said.

Livewire snorted, looking unimpressed.

“Your _Matrix_ cosplay sucks.” She answered.

Querl looked down at his outfit- which he had to admit, was inspired by that particular Keanu Reeves film. But he wasn’t about to say that to her.

“That’s not very nice.”

“Who said I cared about nice?” she asked.

“Oh. Yes, that is correct, you did not.” Querl said. “But that is not the point.”

“What’re you doing here?” James asked, turning to him.

“The same thing as you.” Querl said, glancing over at the man in the labcoat who was near Livewire.

“Did you know that most scientists experiment on themselves first?” he asked.

“Yes, I did.” Querl answered, as James stood in front of him, taking the full force of the lightning the other man was shooting at the two of them as he put up his shield.

But that was only enough to knock both of them to the ground, and when they woke up it was to the sensation of being in handcuffs.

~  
“You know what I love?” Livewire asked. “Little boys that think they can do a better job than the woman who’s an actual superhero.”

 _I am a superhero too,_ Querl wanted to say. But she wouldn’t know that, nor did she need to, so he kept his mouth shut.

“It’s pathetic.” She finished.

“Can you break out of these cuffs?” James asked him.

Querl focused, and tried his best, but when he did he got a jolt of electricity from them, making him feel suddenly weak.

“I apologize.” He said.

“Oh, the cuffs?” the man who’d captured them said, turning around. “Fun, huh? Patent pending. It’s funny, ‘cause Shark Tank turned ‘em down. Said my evaluation was too high.”

“What do you want with us?” James asked.

“Well, it’s clear that my current prototypes aren’t strong enough, and I need upgraded models. That’s where you two come in. Perfect specimens. Not sure how much power I’m going to need, I might have to drain our little battery completely to pull it off. But you two are worth it.”

“We will never fight for you.” James said.

“You will.”

The man turned to Livewire.

“And you- you might definitely die.”

“Leave her alone.” Querl said.

“But what do you care? She’s a _bad guy.”_

The man pressed the device he was holding, and appeared to electrocute Livewire- her veins glowed, the lights above her shone brighter, she screamed in pain.

“That’s enough!”

“Stop!”

Livewire continued to scream, and Kara dropped in, landing on the floor and tossing the man aside, where he appeared to be unconscious. She heat-visioned James and Querl’s cuffs.

“You two go get them. I’ll save Livewire.” She said.

“Affirmative.” Querl answered.

Kara did, indeed, save Livewire, as Querl and James fought the not-Livewires together. They didn’t have to for very long, though, as whatever Kara had said to her inspired the real Livewire to fight back against her impostors, at least briefly before Livewire fought the man who had captured her.

Then it was all three of them, Kara, James, and Querl, fighting their assailants. At one point they stood in a triangle ( _like my family’s symbol,_ Querl thought idly, with his back to Kara and James, _but this is a much more positive association)._

With Kara’s help they were able to dispatch their enemies quickly, though the real Livewire had managed to get a stranglehold on her captor.

“Leslie, don’t.” she said, pleading with her self-admitted nemesis. Livewire wanted to punish him, apparently, but Kara refused to let her go over the line, and kill a man solely because she wanted to. Eventually, however, a deal was struck, as Kara agreed to look the other way regarding Livewire if Livewire spared her captor and let Kara take him to jail instead.

“Just us girls next time.” She said. “We can braid each other’s hair.”

Then she disappeared into one of the light fixtures, and was gone.

“We can still catch her.” James said.

“I will.” Kara answered. “But not today.”

Querl wasn’t sure whether or not that was true, but he wasn’t about to say that out loud.

~  
“Do you understand me, Agent Schott?” J’onn asked, as Winn stood silent. “What you and Mr. Dox did was insubordination. If you ever keep a secret from me like that again, you are-“

“Dead?” Winn asked, nervously.

“Fired.” J’onn said.

“Oh, yes.” Winn said. “That’s fair.”

J’onn took a step towards him.

“You’re lucky no one died.” He said. 

“Can I, um… can I go back to pushing my buttons and things?” Winn asked.

“Go on.” J’onn said, and Winn did. “Wait a minute. One more thing.”

Winn turned back around.

“You two and Mr. Olsen are actually a pretty impressive team.” J’onn admitted. “Reckless, but impressive. Get back to work.”

Winn did, gratefully, but not before smiling at a rare compliment from J’onn, taking the moment in.

~  
“So, what now?” Kara asked, meeting James and Winn and Querl just outside of the DEO command center.

“You tell me.” James said. 

“We could go back to the way things were.” Kara said. “Super-friends… we could be a team again. But, y’know, with Brainy this time.”

“And then we just back you up and never get to do anything ourselves, right?” James asked.

“You’ll live.”

“But not the lives we want.” James continued. “I don’t want to be just the guy at the office anymore.”

“And I don’t just want to be stuck behind a computer.” Winn said.

“We’re gonna do this.” James said. “And we’ll do this alone if we have to. But we would love to work with you.”

“Always.” Winn added.

Kara was silent, for a moment, before turning to Querl.

“Brainy, what do you think?” she asked.

“If I may… I know it has not been a long time, only several months since I last saw the Legion. But I can say that I have missed being a part of a team. Any team, whether it was them or it could be you and the others here. And, though it may not be the popular opinion… I would quite like to be on a team again. To share the accomplishments of others, to have people you know you can rely on beside you, to be united in one cause and one purpose… it is a life-changing experience indeed.”

_And one that I may not have going forward, if I return to my time._

Kara turned back towards James and Winn.

“You were always heroes to me, even before all of this.” She said. “But now… since you really want to do this, I won’t stop you. I do think, though, that we would be stronger if we worked together. All of us.”

 _“El Mayarah,_ then.” Querl answered.

“Yeah.” Kara said, looking at the three of them. “Super-friends it is.”  
~  
Kara and Querl walked back to her apartment together.

Once they were inside, they decided to sit across from each other, at Kara’s table.

“I’m sorry.” Querl said. “This is my fault, for encouraging James, and helping Winn to build his suit. I told him- which is true- that I have a friend who’s just human, no powers or special abilities to speak of, but his skills in various fighting styles allow him to take down nearly anyone he comes across. I’m afraid that may have inspired him, and given him the idea that he is just as qualified to jump into danger.”

“It’s okay, Querl.” Kara answered. “I guess… I just overreacted. I’m sure you know; I’ve lost a lot of people.”

“That is an understatement.”

“I know. But seeing James out there, and you a few times… not to mention all the other people I care about, who risk their lives… I just couldn’t handle the idea of losing any of them. And, maybe, also didn’t realize they could take care of themselves.”

Querl reached out, and took Kara’s hand.

“I could not imagine losing you, either.” He said. “And I hope that we can continue being partners.”

“Yeah.” Kara answered, squeezing his hand. “We can. Thank you, for being honest with me.”

“I also thank you for your honesty.”

He got up, and walked to the door of her apartment.

“See you tomorrow, partner.” He said, before closing the door behind him.

Kara nodded, watching him- hoping they really would see one another the next day.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so here's the chapter I probably should've posted yesterday, except I, uh. was somewhat busy and didn't write. sorry.
> 
> Anyway! I feel like this one has a lot of material from the actual episode? But I hope following chapters can be more original, and I'm going to try to make sure they're that way.
> 
> (also I personally found it quite amusing that, both in this episode and 2x09, there's kind of foreshadowing for what Winn ends up doing at the end of season 3- with him talking about having a calling in this one, and then him talking about protecting the stars, while showing James the dirt he got from Maaldoria)

The next day, Kara met Querl in the alien bar.

“I got you a club soda.” He said, carefully passing over the glass.

“Thanks.” Kara answered, accepting it. “I’ll order yours for you also, if you want. I know how you are about talking to people in public, especially people you don’t know.”

“No, that is not necessary, I only meant to treat you.” Querl answered. “And… I apologize, for making things awkward, the last time we talked.”

“I think that was on both of us.” Kara said. “So, I’ll try to work on that too. But also, I hope we can get to a point where we feel safe around each other- expressing any emotions we feel, no matter what they are.”

Querl nodded.

“That is a worthwhile goal.” He said. “And I too hope we can attain it.”

“Yeah.” Kara answered, smiling at him. “I think… we’re a good match.”

 _I always hoped you would say that,_ he thought. _But I never believed you would._

“Without saying anything to flatter myself, so do I.” Querl said.

Kara squeezed his hand, before taking a sip of her drink, and then taking it with her as she stood up from the bar.

“I’m gonna talk to Alex.” She said. “Also, if you want to, you’re invited to celebrate Earth-birthday with me.”

“Earth-birthday?” he asked.

“Yeah, it’s the anniversary of when I landed on Earth.” Kara answered. “We usually do cupcakes, or something… and I know you haven’t been here for a year yet, but I want you to feel included in that too.”

Querl smiled back at her.

“It sounds wonderful, Kara.”

“Great. It’s tonight, I’ll text you more once I confirm with Alex.” She said.

“Very well.” He answered, and left- only for Alex to arrive, once she saw their conversation was over.

“So, how are things going with you two?” she asked.

“He told me he liked me.” Kara said. “While sick with the Medusa virus. And we’ve talked since then…”

“Is that what you’re calling it?”

“I told him I was trying to balance everything. But… hopefully we could make something work, because I like him too.”

“I am so shocked.”

“Was it that obvious?” Kara asked, wondering what gave it away.

“Duh.” She said. “But I can see why.”

“Yeah, he’s… so many things. Kind, and understanding, and intelligent- obviously- and a hero… I really want things to work out with him.”

Alex nodded, looking over at him.

“You know, when you put it that way, he kind of reminds me of Kenny.”

“Kenny Li, from high school?”

“The one and only.”

“Aw… you’re right.” Kara said. “Just needs to take me out into the woods and show me the stars through his telescope, and then die mysteriously while keeping my big secret.”

“Not entirely the same.” Alex admitted. “But… I can understand why you’d like him. And why you’d be good for each other.”

Kara smiled.

“And I can see why you and Maggie like each other so much.” She said. “But, on to other things. Earth birthday!”

Alex gave her a big smile.

“Yes!”

“Thirteen years, since I crashed here on Earth.”

Kara keeps up the smile, but what she really means to say (in a more private place, where only her sister can hear her, and Kara can hug her or cry or indulge in a gallon of ice cream as needed) is _I’ve now lived on Earth longer than I’d lived on Krypton._

It’s a sobering thought to Kara, one she knows was never a problem for her cousin (one she envies him for, sometimes.) But at the same time, she can’t imagine giving up her connections to her family, so she instead has to carry their memories. She has to keep their light in her heart, and all of Krypton nestled beside them.

(Certainly a lot to ask of a twelve-year-old… but she also doesn’t think her parents intended for her to take so much responsibility in this matter. She has the Sunstones, too, and Kelex, and all the information stored in the Fortress of Solitude.

But she’s still the only living Kryptonian who remembers living there, and since she woke up, she’s taken such a fact seriously.

Otherwise, she could forget, and there’s no way she would want to do that)

“I-“ Alex starts, but (for once) Kara doesn’t hear her.

“So I know we always just do cupcakes, but I was thinking we should go all-out for lucky number thirteen, and I’ve always wanted to try country line-dancing, so I made us this reservation at a club, that if we get there before seven they teach us all these tutorials, and the dances, and- ooh! I should call them and make sure we can rent cowboy boots.”

Alex (also, somewhere in a corner of her mind thinking that clearly she didn’t show Kara enough horror movies while they were growing up, because otherwise she’d know that thirteen was unlucky… but really, this was Kara she was thinking about. If any number was lucky for her, it would be that one) took advantage of Kara finally taking a breath, and said, “Uh… well, about Earth-birthday…”

She smiled again, in the middle of her sentence, just to make sure Kara didn’t get the wrong idea.

“So I know we celebrate every year. And I mean- but, you know, the thing is… that, um, Maggie surprised me, with concert tickets, to The Barenaked Ladies… tonight.”

“…Oh.”

“And she knows that I’ve loved them since high school. And it would be our first concert together, and so I thought, you know, I was maybe… if… there’s… do you think we could- maybe we could celebrate another night?”

“Oh my God!” Maggie said, as she ran up to Alex, and though Kara was standing near Alex, she knew she had no place in this conversation. She only watched Maggie’s face as she went on about some guy she knew at her precinct getting her and Alex upgraded tickets, and sipped her club soda as she hid her disappointment at Alex’s (justifiably) excited reaction.

“Is everything okay?” Maggie asked.

_No, it’s not. I need my sister tonight._

But she shoved that disappointment down, and only said, “Sounds like you guys are gonna have a lot of fun tonight.”

“Are you sure?” Alex asked her.

“Yes! Go!” Kara said. “Go, have fun.”

“…Okay.” Alex said, quickly kissing Kara’s cheek before leaving with Maggie.

“Kara, you alright?” M’Gann asked, after Kara watched her sister leave the bar. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

She would’ve said no. She would’ve asked what was the point, since she couldn’t really get drunk anyway and she wanted to remember this night.

But since her sister (for a good reason) had decided to ditch her, and her hopes of spending Earth-Birthday with her and her (possible) new boyfriend were dashed, she figured she might as well.

“Just… get me something strong.” She said. “Actually, you know what-“

She pointed to Querl.

“I’ll have what he’s having.”

(She had, for a while, wondered about that “Kono juice” he so liked. She figured now was as good a time to try it as any)

“Got it.” M’Gann said. She prepared Kara’s drink, but left after giving it to her- and Kara wondered about that for a little while.

But the commotion outside meant that she didn’t have to for very long, and so she left her drink behind to arrive in the alleyway, just in time for her heat vision to hit a White Martian who was attacking M’Gann and J’onn.

“Mind if I cut in?” she asked.

The White Martian didn’t answer, and so she continued to fight it, making it all the way up to the roof of a nearby building- until it disappeared.

~  
“Didn’t know if we’d be seeing you tonight.” Kara commented, seeing Winn at his desk.

“Why wouldn’t you be?”

“Oh, I just thought you and Brainy might be off with James. Guardian-ing, or whatever.” She said.

“Brainy’s filling in for me tonight.” Winn answered. “I taught him how to drive my van. He promised, if I ever end up going to the 31st century- not that I would remember, if I did, because timeline changes and whatever- that he’d teach me how to use a hoverboard. And to drive what he called a cruiser, which I can’t figure out. Is it a hover-car? Is it a spaceship? Either way, it flies, and it sounds really cool. Anyway.”

“Yeah, sounds great.” Kara said. “And you understand I’m just worried about you.”

“I know.” Winn answered. “But you really don’t need to worry about me.”

“You got beat up a few weeks ago. You could’ve been killed!”

“But I wasn’t. And I learned from that experience.”

Kara nodded, as Winn continued.

“Besides, I think… James talked about this being his calling. But did you ever think that maybe I have a calling, too?”

Kara didn’t answer, as right then J’onn walked up to them.

“What have you found, Agent Schott?”

“Nothing yet.” Winn said. “This guy is hard to track. But we are monitoring every probable target, so when he does attack, we’ll be ready.”

“In that case, I’ll prep our strike teams.”

~  
“Brainy!” Kara said, noticing him when he came back into the DEO, as Winn and J’onn were briefing M’Gann on everything they knew. “Winn said you were helping James out.”

“Yes- but I calculated he would be able to handle the rest of the crime that was going on- there wasn’t much- by himself. I heard about what was going on, and wanted to make sure I would be here to help, if possible.”

“Well, it’s good to have you back.” She answered, before noticing another M’Gann walking down the stairs.

“Guys.” Kara said, voice sharp.

“J’onn, I thought about what you said, and I- _oh my god_.”

The other M’Gann- the impostor- smirked.

“Wait, if she’s here, and she’s- oh. Ohhhhh, no.” Winn started. “ _Noooo,_ no.”

“You Greens. Never learn, do you?” impostor M’Gann said.

She and J’onn started going at it, while Kara tried to protect the real M’Gann, and soon their skirmish was so intense that it caused the DEO to blackout.

The lights were only out for a moment, but Winn managed to get them back on.

“Auxiliary power activated.” A computer voice said.

M’Gann looked around the circle, of the agents and others who were still in the command center.

“He’s gone.” She said, referring to the impostor.

J’onn initiated a lockdown of the DEO, making sure the doors to the outside were closed.

“Why are you putting us in lockdown?”

“Only way to catch that thing is to trap it in here.” He answered.

“With us?”

“We don’t even know where it went.”

“Or where it didn’t go. It could still be here.”

Kara, too, looked around her.

“It could be any of us.” She agreed.

~

“This is everyone who was inside when the doors shut.” Kara said. Around her were Alex, J’onn, M’Gann, Winn, Brainy, and 3 other DEO agents.

“If one of us is a White Martian, how do we tell who’s really themselves?” Alex asked.

“Oh, that’s easy. We just have to ask personal questions, right?” Winn said. “Like, things that only we would know the answer to. Like, what’s the scented candle that I hate?”

“Teakwood and tobacco.” Kara answered immediately.

“No, they can read minds, too.” J’onn said. “They know all your preferences, everything that makes you who you are.”

Two of the agents- Demos and Vasquez, apparently- were immediately suspicious of one another, solely based on their stares, and it took Alex insisting on it for them to think about putting their guns away.

Even if she had her own gun, too.

“Yes, do that, please.” Winn said.

They didn’t, however, and Kara stepped in this time.

“Okay, now you really better put that away.” She said.

“Yes.” Querl agreed. “Violence is the most basic of human emotions, and should only be used as a last resort. Should communication fail.”

“You’re calling us basic?” one of the agents said.

“And human.” Another added. “Like you’re not.”

“He isn’t, but he’s also not the White Martian. That’s not the point.” Kara said. “What Brainy’s trying to say is, we can figure this out in a different way- one that doesn’t involve being accusatory just because someone’s looking at you in a way you think isn’t right.”

“We are not going to lose it here.” J’onn added, voice low.

“J’onn.” Kara said, walking around the table. “You can read minds, can’t you scan us to see who’s who?”

J’onn paused, looking around the circle at all the people with guns pointed at each other, and the few who weren’t.

“No, I can’t.” he finally said. “There’s some kind of psychic interference.”

“Well, that’s convenient.”

“He’s after me.” M’Gann said. “I should turn myself over, maybe he’ll let you go.”

“Great idea.” One of the agents said. “Mission accomplished.”

“Absolutely not.” J’onn interjected, at the same time.

“That’s not how we do things.” Said Kara.

M’Gann sighed, shaking her head.

“It’s all my fault.” She said.

“I’m the one who sealed us in here.” J’onn answered.

“No, you don’t understand, this isn’t just any White Martian.” M’Gann continued. “Armek was my… mate.”

“Mate. Like your husband?” Alex asked.

“It’s not the same, for White Martians. It was an arrangement, not a choice. But- yes, we were bonded. And you all have the right to know that he is the worst of my kind.”

“Oh! Well, that makes me feel so much better.” Winn said.

“Doesn’t matter who he is.” J’onn said.

“J’onn is right. We’re going to find him, and we are going to beat him.” Kara said.

“First thing’s first, I’m gonna collect everybody’s sidearms.”

Alex tried to do just that, which started another yelling match. Winn, meanwhile, flinched, looking like he was trying to hide himself under the table, or as close to it as possible, hands raised as though they were going to cover his head.

“That’s enough!” J’onn finally ordered. “There is one way to determine who is the White Martian and who isn’t.”

“How?” Kara asked.

~  
The group was led into one of the DEO’s labs, where they presently stood around a small fire.

“There was a time when we were in hiding on Mars.” J’onn started. “Trying to build a resistance to the White Martians. We worked out of a network of caves, but they would infiltrate us. Send in spies to wreak havoc. Anyone who came through the mouth of a cave had to put their hand to the fire.”

“What did the fire do?” Kara asked.

“This.” M’Gann said, taking off her jacket before putting her hand near it. The fire appeared to burn away the human skin she was wearing, revealing the White Martian underneath.

Winn kind of laughed. “That’s not creepy at all!”

“Do Vasquez first.” Demos said. “She was so quick to deny that she’s a Martian.”

“Because I’m not.” Vasquez answered. “You moron.”

“There is no need to use such language.” Querl said.

Vasquez, however, did approach the fire, and hold her hand against it- only for it to be completely normal.

“Now him.” She said. But Demos, too, was not a White Martian.

“J’onn?” M’Gann asked, voice soft. “You okay?”

“J’onn.” Kara said.

“He’s not doing it.” Demos pointed out.

But he closed his eyes, took shaky breaths, and as M’Gann spoke to him in Martian, placing a hand on his arm, he too put his hand to the flame.

His hand… that was green.

He pulled it away, still shaky.

“Brainy.” Kara said, nodding at him.

“Hmm?”

“You’re up.”

“Oh.” Querl said. “I do not think I have anything to prove to you. You know who I am- and besides, I was the last person to enter the building before the lockdown, it is extremely unlikely-“

“I’m sorry if you’re afraid.” Kara answered. “But everyone has to do it.”

“Very well.” Querl said, and when he put his hand near the fire, it shifted into a White Martian’s.

“You found me.” He continued, giving them all a devilish smile, before grabbing the flame and swinging it around the room. Everyone tried to duck, and hide from it as Querl let out a roaring noise, kicking over the lab table. Kara attempted to tackle him, but he threw her into another table, that crumpled under her weight.

Querl now had J’onn by the throat, and he held the flame near him, inching it closer.

“I am so glad you did not turn yourself in, my love.” he said, looking at M’Gann. “Although…”

He turned his gaze towards Kara.

“It seems this one has a different love. But no matter. If you had turned yourself in, I would have missed all the fun.”

Kara blew freeze breath at him, giving J’onn enough time to get a couple hits in- but the White Martian impersonating Querl fought them all off and ran, jumping off the landing outside of the lab and landing on the floor of the command center.

Kara shot heat vision at him, then, as the White Martian scooted themselves backwards, trying to avoid her. But they avoided her gaze enough, and managed to escape.

~

“I can’t believe it was Brainy, and I didn’t know.” Kara said. Around her, the other agents (including J’onn) were loading up firearms, ready to face the White Martian this time.

“None of us knew.” J’onn answered, in an attempt to comfort. 

Vasquez offered Kara a gun.

“No thanks, I’m armed.” Kara said, and Vasquez walked over to Agent Demos, who was sitting in one of the chairs bandaging his ankle.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” He said, and she handed him her gun as she checked it over.

“The motion sensor is offline.” Alex said, from Winn’s chair. “Thank God the containment cells are still locked. As Brainy, he had access to the whole system.”

Above them right then, the lights began flashing red.

“Now what?” Kara asked.

 _Reactor temperature nearing critical,_ a voice announced.

“The reactor.” Vasquez said, running over to another computer.

“What reactor?”

“The one that powers the building. It’s going to overload.”

Kara and J’onn looked over her shoulder, as Kara hoped Vasquez was good at working under pressure.

“What does that mean?”

“It means he sabotaged it.” J’onn said. “This whole building’s gonna explode.”

He looked over at Kara, and though she knew he was trying to stay strong- for the DEO, for the others trapped in the building, for her and her sister- he was still scared.

 _No. I am not going to let more people I care about- and innocent lives- be sacrificed on my Earth-birthday,_ Kara thought. _That’s not gonna happen again. Not today._

“Why would he want to blow the building up? He’s inside too, he’ll die.” Kara asked, as Vasquez continued to work.

“It doesn’t matter to Armek. He’d proudly give his life to complete his mission.”

“Can we shut it down manually?” Alex asked.

“No. The White Martian who took Brainy’s form also took most of his intelligence. He’s re-encoded everything. We’re locked out of the entire system.”

“So we need the real Brainy to unlock it.”

“How do we know that Brainy’s even in the building?” Kara asked.

“In order for Armek to shapeshift into Brainy so exactly, he’d have to be close by to keep the telepathic link.”

“He’s in the DEO.” J’onn said.

“Can’t Supergirl X-ray vision the building to find him?”

_If only it were that easy._

“No, someone lined the walls of the building with lead.” Kara answered.

“We need to search the building.” J’onn said, appearing to almost leave before returning.

“How long until the reactor explodes?” Alex asked, looking over to Vasquez.

“According to our calculations, about fifteen minutes.” She answered.

“Vasquez, Demos, you take two teams up through the north wing.” J’onn said. “Supergirl, Alex, you hit the basement.”

Kara and Alex nodded.

“Let’s go.”

~  
“Not so good at communicating these days, are we?” Alex asked, after checking the area to make sure it was all clear.

“I was mad before.” Kara admitted. “About Earth-birthday.”

“I knew it. I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have bailed on you.”

_You’re right. But I also know why you would._

“You just… hurt my feelings.” Kara said instead.

“I know. It wasn’t fair. Look, I don’t want to feel bad for wanting to spend time with Maggie.”

“You shouldn’t, that’s a good thing. I- I just… ever since I’ve been on Earth, I don’t know what life is like without you there all the time. I felt that changing, and I just- it just… was scary. When my parents put me in that pod, on Krypton, I… I don’t think I realized what was actually happening. I didn’t know that I was saying goodbye to them forever. I’ve been abandoned before, and I didn’t want to be abandoned again.”

Alex shook her head, watching Kara.

“I will never abandon you.” She said.

Kara nodded, and the two turned at a sound behind them, ready for whatever it was.

“What was that?”

“Let’s find out.”

~  
“We’re not going to be able to find him in time.” M’Gann said with a sigh, as she closed the door behind herself and J’onn. “I should’ve handled this on my own.”

“I’d never let you do that.” J’onn answered.

“I know you think it’s your duty-“

“It’s not just my duty, M’Gann.” He said. “It’s more than that. You’ve become dear to me in a way that no one else has been since… I’ve just had this huge hole in my heart for so long now I’d never thought… dreamed anyone would be able to fill it. When I realized you were a White Martian, I never thought that that… person would be you. But I was wrong. Your spirit is so beautiful, and brave, and… I’m so sorry that I was unfair to you. But now that I’m able to see that, I can’t imagine my life without you.”

M’Gann smiled at him, and for a moment she forgot all about her former mate that she and J’onn were supposed to be tracking down. And, for that matter, that J’onn had put her in a DEO cell just for being who she was, because she hadn’t told him something he would’ve hated her for anyway.

But she had forgiven him, and herself, and now she was just sharing this moment with her new friend.

“I’m brave because you showed me how to be.” She said.

“I’ll protect you, M’Gann.” J’onn answered. “Forever.”

_Even though I know you don’t need it._

M’Gann continued to smile at him, but something caught her eye ahead of them.

“J’onn, be careful.” She said.

Above them on the ceiling, in a cocoon, was Brainy- unconscious, in his Coluan form. But he didn’t appear to be injured. It was as though he were just sleeping, unaware of anything wrong.

“Brainy!”

“What’s that?” M’Gann asked, looking at the end of the short hallway they were in.

“Oh my god.” J’onn said, as they approached the other cocoon.

~

“Supergirl!” came J’onn’s voice, through the communication device in her ear.

“What’s up, J’onn?”

“We were wrong. There are two White Martians in the building.”

“What?”

“It’s Alex. The other White Martian has shapeshifted into Alex.”

Well, didn’t that just make it the best Earth-birthday Kara had ever had.

“Alex?”

“You guys are _so_ dumb.”

Alex growled at Supergirl, mouth shapeshifting into that of a White Martian for a moment, before punching her, sending Kara to the ground.

“What’s wrong, Supergirl? Too afraid to put up a fight?”

 _I’ve fought you when you weren’t yourself before,_ Kara thought. _I didn’t think I’d have to do it again._

_Especially not today._

_But this isn’t you. It’s someone wearing your skin._

“Never.” She answered, launching herself at her.

_Core breach in five minutes._

“Nice shot, sis.”

“You’re not my sister.” Kara said. She got up, and her eyes glowed, about to use her heat vision on the White Martian in her sister’s body when-

“Maybe heat vision isn’t such a good idea in a room with an unstable nuclear reactor.”

_Dammit. She’s right._

The heat behind her eyes lessened, and Kara and White Martian Alex began to circle each other, while Kara searched for another way to end this. To defeat this person, and keep the city from blowing up, and save her sister.

_She’s going to be so devastated she missed her concert date with Maggie… I know she wanted to be happy, and deserved a nice night with her girlfriend. But I bet she wasn’t expecting this._

“Then I guess we’re going to have to do this the old fashioned way.” Kara said.

And with that, she and Alex began to go at each other, launching themselves toward one another.

~  
Querl woke up to J’onn holding his shoulder, and hitting his face.

“Brainy. Brainy, come on! Wake up!” he was shouting.

“Wh- the White Martian. He took my form.” Brainy said, trying to stand up. “I was on the ceiling. Sorry- sorry I could not fight- usually better with dealing with shapeshifters.”

J’onn softened, seeing him slightly out of sorts, and helped him stand.

“I don’t blame you. Armek is strong. But we need you to make sure the building isn’t going to explode.”

“Then we have to get out- unless…”

“Unless the White Martians infiltrated the reactor core, too, and you now need to shut it down before the whole thing overloads?” J’onn asked.

“Yes. Right.” Querl said, straightening his clothes. “I was going to say that.”

M’Gann passed him the tablet he’d been using since he started informally working as a DEO agent, while Alex was still recovering from her awakening.

“No.” Querl answered, looking down at it. “I have to go down to the reactor room myself.”

“Then we need to go to the reactor room.” J’onn said.

“Alright.”

“Hey, you two go ahead.” M’Gann interjected, looking over at Alex. “She’s still a little out of it, I’m going to make sure she’s okay.”

She handed Winn a flashlight, and Querl- albeit still unsteady- walked with J’onn, down to the basement.

“How are we doing?” M’Gann asked Alex, as they left, and Alex sat on the floor with her head in her hands.

~  
“How long until you disable the reactor?” J’onn asked, leading Querl as they got closer to the basement.

_Core breach in four minutes._

“No more than four minutes.” Querl answered, with confidence.

“Good answer.”

“Yes, as long as I can focus, it should be easy.” Querl said. 

_Easier than you think._

But by the time they had gotten into the room, the White Martian who’d been wearing Alex had already revealed themselves in their true form, and was now fighting Kara, as Armek barreled into the room, and slammed into J’onn.

“Go!” J’onn shouted, and Querl did.

 _All I need is to keep one thought track on my mission,_ he thought. _One on this countdown. Three minutes and nine seconds until the building explodes, I have dealt with many situations thought to be impossible and lived to speak about them. This is going to be fine. I know what I must do, and even how to connect with the primitive twenty-first century technology that powers this building._

_Kara will be fine. She will be safe, for the near future. She can handle herself._

_Right now, I do not need to worry about her._

_I just need to do my part in helping her by shutting this down. After all, she is relying on me, she has put her trust in what I will do just as I am doing the same with her._

_For now, we trust each other, and that is enough._

_Have to reroute it,_ he thought as he went to the panel on the opposite wall, and started to get to work.

Distantly, he heard J’onn and Armek fighting, though he knew that fight was closer than he thought. But J’onn could handle himself too, and he too was counting on him.

He, too, trusted him for the moment, and he would not let him down.

Querl turned around for a moment, saw sparks flickering past his back, and turned back around.

_I have to finish this._

M’Gann came in, wearing her Green Martian form, and helped J’onn up. Together, they charged Armek.

_Core breach in two minutes._

_Don’t look behind you. Not even for Supergirl._

But as the fighting died down, and Querl got to another computer, he was looking at the words _Core Stabilized_ on the screen, with twelve seconds left to spare. That, and Kara was at his back, sighing in relief right alongside him.

“Oh, that was a close one.” She said. 

“Close? I have come closer than that.” Querl said. “I prefer a greater challenge than this, personally. But thank you.”

Kara wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“Thank you.” She said, in return.

Behind them, M’Gann was helping J’onn up, and it seemed like everything was over-

Until Armek got up, only to be shot down again by the real Alex.

“Have I mentioned how much I love my new gun?” she asked.  
~  
 _Lockdown terminated._

“Can’t believe it’s still nighttime.” Winn said.

“Yes, it feels as though it’s been one week.” Querl added. “Though that is impossible.”

Alex stared at both of them.

“One week… Barenaked Ladies. I gotta call Maggie.”

She ran off, and Kara was left once again.

 _It’s still my Earth-birthday,_ she thought. _And Alex is still leaving me behind._

“You did a great job with that decoding.” She said, as Querl smiled at her.

“And you fought admirably.” He answered. “I was considering, as Winn said, going to help James… but it is your Earth-birthday. I believe, for such a circumstance, he could wait.”

“I’m glad you’re helping them.” Kara said, placing a hand on his arm. “James especially.”

“It is my pleasure.” Querl said.

“Well, I am going to see him, and ask if he needs my help tonight.” Winn told them.

“Be safe.” Kara and Querl cautioned.

Winn only mock-saluted them, as he left.

“Always.”

~  
Kara and Querl found themselves back on Kara’s couch again, sitting under the same blanket and watching a classic movie. Kara had a hot chocolate mug in her hands, and Querl had another one of Kara’s mugs in his hands, containing iced club soda.

There was a knock on Kara’s door, and Kara X-ray visioned it.

Querl didn’t have the same capability, so he was surprised to see Alex there, holding a cupcake with a birthday candle in it.

“Happy Earth-birthday.” She said, softly. “Look, there’s a K.”

Kara smiled, and made what she would have referred to as “grabby hands” in the direction of the cupcake.

“Well? Go ahead.” Alex said. “Blow it out- gently.”

_I wish you would always be my sister._

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Alex said, as she followed Kara into the apartment.

“So, was Maggie mad you missed the concert?” Kara asked.

Alex put her purse down on Kara’s table, folding her jacket over it.

“Well, luckily I have a girlfriend who understands when deadly aliens besiege my place of work.” She said. “That takes precedence.”

Kara laughed, and Querl could only think of how happy he was to see them here on such an important occasion for Kara, how honored he was to be in the same room, to breathe the same air as these sisters who had such a great bond with one another.

He didn’t mind not being spoken to, in this case. This was enough.

“Yeah, I’m glad everyone is okay.” Kara said, taking out a fork for her cupcake. “And that last White Martian, oof. First of all, boy did it do a good job impersonating you. Second, you got there just in time.”

“Um. Speaking of that White Martian, when it was me, did you have a conversation? Because I have these memories, they’re like, um…”

Querl didn’t need to hear the rest, he wouldn’t invade Alex and Kara’s privacy like that. He concentrated, instead, on the movie, and was content only to do so. But eventually Kara sat down on her couch with him again, and Alex along with her, and he felt the warmth from both of them- how much they loved each other, and how much he hoped that warmth would be passed to him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gosh. it's really weird/surreal to be rewatching this episode and writing this chapter before and after watching 5x07, which, um. wow these past couple seasons have changed Lena a lot, haven't they. we've come so far.
> 
> but anyway! I hope you all enjoy this!

Kara stood watching the TV, in the alien bar.

“The trial of Lillian Luthor continued today.” The newscaster said. “Luthor, the suspected head of the anti-alien terrorist organization Cadmus, has been charged with a host of crimes, including the use of a bio-weapon in an attempted extermination of all aliens in National City…”

Querl paused, as he passed her, looking at Lillian’s face on the television.

 _It is perhaps wrong of me to wish she would be punished severely,_ he thought. _Which punishment, I am not sure- especially where torture devices in this century are concerned. But in this case, I do not think she would be undeserving of such treatment._

“She almost reminds me of my mother.” He said. “That is not a compliment.”

_Did I say too much? Should I specify, or is she going to understand, based on my comment at Thanksgiving? Will she even question such a comment?_

“Yeah, she’s… bad news.” Kara answered, her heart now hurting for both Lena and Brainy.

How did she get stuck with three friends who had to live through being raised by terrible parents? Kara had no idea, but she also knew that she would do her best (and she had, introducing Winn and Brainy to Eliza) to change that for the better in the near future.

“Bad for you to report on?”

“Not bad, exactly, just… well, you know Lena. She doesn’t deserve a mother like that- neither do you, by the way- and the fact that she has to deal with this…”

Querl places a hand on her shoulder.

“It upsets you. I understand.”

_More than you could possibly know. Although, one day, you just might._

Kara places her hand over his, and turns to smile at him, despite the situation.

“Yeah. Thank you.” She said. “But I think Alex has an announcement to make, she said it was important. Let’s go over there.”

They did, hand positions shifted so they were holding one another, and sat down beside one another at the table Alex had gotten for them.

“You’ve been busy.” Querl commented. “Good busy, I think.”

“Yeah, just catching bad guys, working on an article- about Lillian, actually- and I’ve been talking with Winn and James, coordinating things with you guys… how have you been?”

“About the same. Except replace “writing an article” with “paperwork” and “continuing to avoid Eve Tessmacher”. So far, it has worked.”

_However, I am no closer to figuring out what Leviathan is- and where or when they come from. That, though, may be a problem years down the line- and I will not burden you on the details until I have more of them._

“I’m glad.” Kara said.

 _This time may never be home for me,_ Querl thought. _But at least, with the pattern that my life is taking so far, it may be starting to feel like it._

_For now, at least._

He wasn’t sure how much longer it would last, how long the illusion would continue to hold, but he hoped when (if) it did, his friends would be spared from seeing it crumble.

James and Winn sat across from Kara and Querl at the table, with J’onn at one end of it.

“Another round is on its way.” Kara said. “I just… got a little distracted, after placing the order. You okay, J’onn?”

“Yeah. Yeah.” J’onn said. “It’s… the first time I’ve been back in this bar since M’Gann… left.”

Everyone, especially those who’d been in the DEO and met M’Gann, fell silent, and Kara especially wanted to comfort J’onn. He’d told Kara and Alex that she was gone, in an attempt to try to find other White Martians like herself and bring peace to Mars. It was a noble cause, and she was worthy of it… but it was also dangerous, and Kara could understand why he was worried.

And especially, why it hurt so much for him to be back here. For someone like him, the memories must have been overwhelming.

Just like they had been for Kara, when she first stepped into the Fortress of Solitude on Earth, or when she saw her mother’s hologram for the first time.

Winn, bless his soul, tried to change the subject.

“Hey, I am- I am very excited to meet Alex’s new mystery man.” He said.

 _Not a man,_ Kara almost wanted to comment. But she remembered that Alex hadn’t really come out to any of them besides her- and although Alex had told her about recounting her feelings for Maggie to Winn, he might not have put the pieces together yet.

“Hey, do we know what, um… what he does for a living?” James asked. “Alex’s guy?”

“Cop.” Kara said immediately.

_Like she hasn’t tried to arrest you._

“Ah.”

“Yeah, no way Alex Danvers dates someone who doesn’t own a firearm.” Winn said, not technically wrong.

“Hey, guys.” Alex said, walking up with Maggie beside her. “Yeah, um… you all remember Maggie, right?”

Kara took a moment just to savor the reactions on James and Winn’s faces, as they were genuinely surprised by such a revelation.

“Oh! Hey! Yeah, good to see you again!” James said.

“Did you know?” Winn asked J’onn, after getting over his surprise.

“Of course I knew, I’m psychic.” J’onn said. 

“How come you never said anything before?”

“It’s not for me to say. Good for you, Alex.”

Alex looked over at Querl, then.

“And I suppose you didn’t tell anyone because you’re from the future, and you already knew?”

“Indeed.” He said- though, given that he’d said much of the information about the 21st century was lost, he might’ve only been saying that to make her feel better. But she’d take it. “But congratulations are still in order. I am happy for you.”

“Good.” Alex said. “On Earth, in this time, not everyone supports ladies, lovin’ ladies.”

“Quite disappointing.” Querl answered. “Especially as, with your terms, I would be considered bisexual.”

Alex smiled at him, and Winn gave him a high-five, as Kara squeezed his hand.

“Well, that’s great too.” She said.

“Thank you. But really, this is your night- your time to celebrate your self-discovery. And that, you should be proud of.”

“Yeah. I think I am.”

The bartender came by, then, and delivered their drinks.

“Hey, do you play pool?” Maggie asked Winn.

“Yeah!” Winn answered, at the same time as James’s “No you don’t.”

“It is geometry with sticks, folks, it is easy. Let’s go do it.”

Winn followed Maggie over to the pool table, as James hugged Alex, congratulating her as well.

“Alex, my money’s on your girl.” J’onn said. He, too, got up from the table, leaving only Kara and Querl still sitting there together.

“So, you want to go watch that trainwreck with me? Because I’m pretty sure Winn definitely doesn’t have it. Even against Maggie, who I hear isn’t great at pool herself.”

“I would like nothing more.”

_Anything to keep my mind off Lillian and her trial._

“Hey, that cop doesn’t know I’m the Guardian, right?” James asked, as the three of them walked together.

“No, of course not.” Kara said. “And I’m gonna make sure she doesn’t.”

“Thanks.”

But Lillian apparently wouldn’t leave Kara or Querl alone, because the news story about her was still playing on the TV. Now, it seemed, it was focusing on Lena, and how she would have to testify at Lillian’s trial.

“Oh, what an awful thing to have to do.” Kara said, as Querl watched with her and James.

“Well, the Luthors have never shied away from doing awful things.” James remarked.

 _Neither has my family._ , Kara thought. _You've never said anything like that to me, though._

“Yeah, but she’s not like them. She knows Lillian is evil. She’s doing the right thing, even though she still loves her mother. What she did was brave.”

“If you say so.”

“I know so.” Querl said. “But for this time, in this context, yes. Kara speaks the truth.”

“No kidding.” James said, and moved over to the pool table to watch Winn.

“I should go see her, she could probably use a friend.” Kara remarked.

“A good decision.” Querl answered.

_I wish I had a friend, during my dark times. Especially someone as thoughtful as you. All I had was… someone who was the opposite of that._

_But right now, I would much rather think about you than her._

Kara didn’t let herself think about the other meaning of someone using their friends. Lena wasn’t like that. Right?

Winn, then, chose that moment to nearly break a window, and incite a minor panic.

“Sorry!”

 _I am going to see her,_ she decided. _No matter what anyone else thinks._

~  
After doing just that, Kara additionally decided to go to the next round of Lillian’s trial- this one involving one John Corben, aka Metallo, who she and her cousin had fought before they realized he was working for Cadmus. She tried to tune him out as much as possible- especially when he mentioned Supergirl by name- but of course she couldn’t do that forever.

Which, then, was when he became even more hostile, and revealed that he still had his Kryptonite heart somehow. In the panic, Kara and Alex attempted to escape, while Kara looked around for Lena- hoping that she’d gotten away too.

Meanwhile, Lillian only sat near the front of the courtroom, looking pleased that her creation had caused so much destruction- right before he freed her, and they both escaped.

“Go.” Alex said, to Kara, and she did just that, meeting the two Cadmus operatives outside. Like most villains, however, Lillian had to end up giving Kara a choice between capturing her and Metallo, or saving innocent lives- and like most heroes, Kara chose the latter.

~  
“I flew over the whole city twice, they’re gone. Lillian and Metallo have disappeared.” Kara said, flying into the DEO with Alex and Maggie waiting for her. “I should’ve stopped them.”

“We- hey, you saved everyone.” Alex said, putting a hand on her sister’s back. “That was the right choice. Now, look, we’re gonna find Metallo, and we’re gonna get him back into custody.”

“I know.” Kara said. “I know. It’s just… I- I can’t figure out where he got all that Kryptonite from. Clark was supposed to have taken all of it.”

Maggie, after hanging up on the call she was making, sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just had the jail check all of Corben’s visitors to see how the Kryptonite might’ve been smuggled in.” she said. “But he hasn’t had any visitors, since he’s been there. And when they swept his cell yesterday, there was nothing out of the ordinary, which means… he must’ve gotten the Kryptonite last night.”

“Seems to narrow down the window.” Alex said. “Why do you look so concerned?”

“Because. There was only one visitor to the jail last night. But it was to visit Lillian Luthor.”

“Who?” Kara asked.

“Her daughter Lena.”

~  
Kara, for that reason, decided to visit Lena that day- only to caution her, and to let her know about the accusations she’d just heard. She was trying to be casual, yet also sounding like she was looking out for her friend, but Lena only- once more- thought she was being more like a reporter.

Maybe, if she had more time to explain herself, things could’ve gotten better. She could have reassured Lena that she didn’t think so at all, that she was worried, that Lena just needed to prepare for the worst… but then Maggie walked in, and decided to talk with Lena.

And, apparently, Maggie had some footage that proved Lena was every bit the Luthor her name implied. So Kara, able to do nothing that helped, watched her be put in handcuffs, and taken out of her office.

“Sorry, Kara.” Maggie said.

Kara knew she most likely was- up to that point, Lena had only proven herself to be trustworthy- and so, she was going to prove it, or lose her credibility trying.

~  
“What’s going on?” Kara asked, as she walked into Catco, seeing the flurry of activity there.

“We’re crashing the cover.” James said.

“But the pub date’s today. The cover’s set.”

“Yeah, that’s why they call it crash.” James answered. 

The two of them walked into Snapper’s office, where James presented him with what looked to be the new cover.

“Wait, you’re putting Lena Luthor on the cover? She doesn’t need to be a front-page story.” Kara said, getting a closer look at the headline.

“She’s arguably the most famous name in National City, Danvers.” Snapper answered. “Her notorious brother’s in prison. Of course I’m putting her on the cover, she’s a Luthor!”

_That’s no reason for you to name her guilty by association._

“But she didn’t do it.”

“Have you seen the video? Or are you letting your budding friendship corrupt your reporting? Who’s got confirmation bias now?”

“She told me on the record she didn’t do it.”

_And, anyone who knows Lena knows that video is fake._

“She said, she said. This time we need more than just a quote. Otherwise it’s just another conspiracy theory for Twitter.”

“Well, I’ll keep digging, then.” Kara said.

“Your gumption annoys me to no end.” Snapper answered. “But keep gumptioning for tomorrow’s cover.”

“Tomorrow? By then it’ll be too late, then everyone will think she’s guilty already!”

_And I am not letting that happen._

“Everyone will think she’s guilty today. Tomorrow’s another story.”

He snapped his fingers.

“Focus on tomorrow, Danvers!”

 _He’s right, kind of._ Kara thought. _And I’m not going to stop trying to make sure she’s cleared tomorrow._

She tried to argue, but even James agreed with him, that it should be printed. And for him to say that she should agree too…

It was just too much.

_Of course, James, say that her betraying her own mother is equal to her betraying someone who’s not totally evil. Like those things are in any way comparable to one another._

_Of course, James, tell me Lena’s bad news because she’s a Luthor. When you’ve been working with the son of the Toyman, as well as a freaking Brainiac._

_Of course, James, tell me you’re going to prove it to me that she’s guilty. I’m going to prove she isn’t, and you can’t stop me either._

~

“Eve?” Querl asked, looking over at her. “Can I help you, with any of that?”

For a moment, he thought she was going to give him a cutting remark, tell him to fuck off, or any of the other creative insults he’d learned in this time.

But in this office, in public, she was far too polite for that, and only handed the papers over with a shy smile.

“Yeah.” She said. “Thanks, Quentin. It’s just, things have been so busy, with the trial, and now everything happening with Lena Luthor…”

Querl nodded, depositing the papers on his own desk.

“I understand. I’ve noticed such a busyness too.” He said.

_If only I had gotten a chance at a fair trial, when I was sentenced so long ago. But no, even that was too good for me, and just as Lena had been, everyone assumed my guilt upon nothing more than looking at my face._

Eve nodded.

“You know, I wanted to work for Lena.” She said. “I actually have a degree in nuclear physics, from Yale. But being an assistant pays the bills, so I did what I had to, even if it meant doing a job I was overqualified for. Like you.”

_And after what happened to me the last time I had no money, I needed any job at all._

“Right.” He answered. “Just like me.”

“Yeah, I was terrified the first time I so much as got Ms. Grant coffee, but I got used to it- after she admonished the dean of my school for giving me a degree.” She said. “Everything’s fine now, though. How are things going with you and Kara?”

If he had had a drink, he would’ve spit it out. Just for dramatic effect.

“What?”

“You and Kara. You always come to work together, you leave together, I see you go off on your lunch breaks together… whenever there’s a spare moment, you’re with her. So what’s up?”

“I… do not see why any relationship I would have is anyone else’s business.” Querl said. “However… Kara and I are, as she would say, “working something out”. It is more casual than anything, but it is going.”

Eve smiled.

“That’s nice.” She said, in a tone that made him think she didn’t believe so at all, especially based on the last time they’d encountered one another.

“Yes, Kara is quite wonderful. I am lucky to have met her.” He said.

_And I hope she can say the same of me._

“I will get started on this paperwork.” Querl said. “Apologies for the delay. With the paperwork.”

“No problem.”

~

When Querl arrived in the DEO, James was sitting on one of the beds in the medbay with a shoulder wound, and Alex was there trying to clean it up. J’onn and Kara and Winn were also gathered there, and Querl got a distinct sense that he was late for something (which he’d never liked. The staring resulting from being late, especially, but then again he always felt as though people were staring at him. Same went for the whispers coupled with such stares, or sideways glances in his direction… but at least these people were nicer to him, and would not judge him anymore for being who he was)

“You’re lucky you didn’t take a direct hit.” Kara said.

“I had my shield.”

“As someone who speaks from experience in using shields- even if they’re not exactly the physical kind- I know that they are reliable. But even they will not protect you one hundred percent of the time, nor will armor.” Querl said.

“Yeah, well, the armor part’s on you. So can you and Winn fix it up for me?”

Querl nodded.

“Yes. It will be fun.”

“Sure. Didn’t know the definition of ‘fun’ had changed, but we’ll go with that anyway.” Winn added.

“It is fun! I will prove it to you.”

“Yeah, right.” Winn said. “But what’s fun for you, the twelfth-level genius, might not be nearly as fun for me.”

_Because I’m an idiot._

“Possibly. But we can still try.” Querl answered. “Do not worry, James. You will have your shield returned to you, even better than before.”

“Good. I do love that shield. And I know what I’m doing.”

Alex put a bandage over James’s shoulder, very carefully.

“Even if Metallo’s weakening, though, he’s still a fanatic follower of Lillian Luthor, we have to find out where he’s taken Lena, and help her.”

“What is it gonna take for you to realize that Lena is a criminal? She’s not the victim. She got the Kryptonite, he broke her out of prison, now they’re apparently who knows where-“

“Lena is not a member of Cadmus!” Kara exclaimed, and the stares were now directed at her. Querl, too, looked over at her- noticed how much she was leaning over the table, how she nearly dented the metal. “She’s not. She’s _not!”_

She looked around the room, trying to convince each of them. But J’onn, Winn, James, even Alex… none of them believed her. It was all based on that video, that incriminating evidence- yet none of them seemed open to the possibility that it could have been tampered with.

“She stopped the gang with alien weapons! She- she saved Alex’s life when Corben tried to kill her!”

“She shot Corben, and then her mom turned Corben into Metallo. So that could’ve been the plan the entire time.”

Kara sighed.

“We have to start treating Lena Luthor like a hostile.” J’onn said. “The evidence is too overwhelming.”

“Yes, as though that would cause her to not be a villain.” Querl answered. “Do we not want Lena on our side? If she has been influenced by her mother, do we not want her to change? Kara is right. Treating Lena as a friend- as she’s doing- is the best way to be on an equal playing field with Lillian. They are matched, they know one another. Lena knows Lillian’s weaknesses, and as Kara pointed out, she has helped us before.”

Querl paused, somewhat for dramatic effect.

“Besides. Treating the relative of a villain as though they are guilty by association… did not help me one iota. I could never do that to someone else, if they did not deserve it.”

He thought, then, of another Luthor- another lonely heiress who only wanted friendship, and someone to talk to, finding it in a child of the House of El. She may have taken things too far in trying to keep the one friend she didn’t make, but…

He knew, in this case, Kara would most likely remain loyal to Lena, and such a strong bond would prevent her from, for example, trying to kill the people she believed were taking her friend away from her.

(He wasn’t about to let that happen again)

Kara stared at him, before putting an arm around his shoulders, but as much as he enjoyed the contact, it didn’t make him smile.

Not when Lena was faced with her own dark path, and had to choose what road she would take all by herself.

“Winn, if you watch that video I know you’ll find something.” She said.

“I did. It’s… it’s clean.”

_Not you too, Winn… I believed better of you._

“Then find something to prove her innocent.”

“Everything we’ve seen so far says the exact opposite.” J’onn insisted.

Kara still wasn’t about to give up.

“Well, she’s my friend. And I believe in her.” She said, placing her hands on her hips, trying to affect a heroic pose before leaving the room.

Querl only continued to sit in the room, watching James go out and talk to Kara.

~  
The next time Querl saw Kara, she was taking out her anger on a couple of cement blocks.

She was still wearing her civilian clothes, as she did so, and when Querl walked down the stairs, he saw her kick over one of the blocks while still wearing her (presumably expensive) shoes.

He clapped, as she stopped, and she turned to look up at him.

“That was good.” He said. “And I do not at all mean that facetiously, in case you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t, but thanks anyway.” Kara answered.

“I suspect it is not these blocks you are angry at?”

Kara shook her head.

“No.” she said, remembering what she’d been taught. She knew exactly, in that situation, what her “anger behind the anger” was, and unfortunately most of her other friends were contributing to it just as much as the people who’d taken Lena in the first place. “And I’m not… I don’t know if I’m mad at J’onn, or James, or anyone else. I’m just frustrated.”

“Yes. I would be too.” Querl answered. “I would suggest that we train again, as we have not done so, but we are both busy. Work, naturally, takes precedence.”

“Yeah.” Kara said. “Thanks, by the way. For believing in Lena.”

_And thank you for believing in me, Kara. I do not know what I would’ve done without you._

“I believe in both of you.” Querl said. “You know your friend well; it is quite clear. And I know you would never lie about such an important matter- that, and I can relate to Lena. I especially did my first couple of months here.”

Kara sighed.

“Yeah. Sorry.” She said.

“I understood your reaction to me, at the time. And I still do- at the same time, with the situation surrounding Lena Luthor, I do not mean to sow dissidence between you and your DEO compatriots.” Querl said. “But… they believed me, when I said I was not like the rest of the Brainiacs. Why can they not trust Lena?”

“It’s that stupid video.” Kara answered. “The one showing her getting the Kryptonite for Metallo. We just need to prove that it’s fake.”

“Right. There is that small matter.” Querl said. “But I know we are capable of it.”

_We are capable of just about anything, when working together. It is only a matter of deciding to do so._

“Thank you. Seriously.”

_I’m glad it’s not just me. Thank you for understanding._

Kara pulled him into a hug.

“We’ll talk again later, okay? I’m going to go see if they found Lena.”

“Yes. I am, almost literally, right behind you.”

~  
Winn did, actually, come around to seeing the truth- in this case, hacking into the L-Corp security cameras got him the result that someone had already hacked into them, and Winn was able to reverse Hank Henshaw’s corruption of the video, allowing him access to the original- which showed Hank taking the Kryptonite, instead of Lena.

“I knew it!”

“You were right.” Winn said. “I mean, you were right! You were right!”

_I knew she would be._

_Kryptonite signature detected,_ announced one of the computers.

“What is it?” Kara asked as she followed Winn to another computer.

“J’onn’s been having me scan for Kryptonite signatures, so we could find Metallo.” He said. Like he’d summoned him, J’onn arrived right behind him then, as did Alex.

“Did you find him, Agent Schott?”

“Yup. Fifty miles north of Mount Whitney. Wait… Either something’s wrong with this signal, or the source isn’t pure.”

“The ionizing radiation signature is breaking down at an exponential rate.” Alex added.

“Kryptonite is usually the most stable of elements.” J’onn said.

“Well, James did say that Metallo’s Kryptonite seemed off.” Kara answered, taking another look at the screen.

“Could be synthetic.” Querl noted. “That would explain how they had it in the first place.”

“Right, because it wouldn’t be from Clark.”

Winn looked at the screen again.

“Whoa. If these numbers are right, then… It’s not just unstable, it’s going to blow.”

“Blow?” Kara and Querl asked.

“Yeah, like go nuclear.” Winn clarified.

“Have you finished repairing the anti-Kryptonite vest Supergirl wore the last time she fought Metallo?”

Winn looked guilty- like a child who’d been caught without their homework.

“They’re in pieces.” He said, trying to think of an excuse and coming up with nothing. “I would have to-“

“There’s no time.” Kara insisted, inadvertently saving him. (even though he did, really, want to finish those vests. And make them even better, with or without Brainy’s help) “I have to go now or Lena’s dead.”

~  
“Kara, we calculated the rate of radioactive decay, it’s faster than we thought.”

“How fast?”

“Minutes.” Said Querl, through the earpiece Kara wore. “And its half-life is decreasing exponentially.”

“Kara, you have to turn back.” Alex said, even though she knew she wouldn’t. She didn’t know Lena very well, and was acting more on orders from J’onn than anything else… but she also believed in her sister, and Lena had saved her life no matter what the motive.

So even though she didn’t agree, she was going to trust Kara. For now, at least.

“When the Kryptonite explodes, it’s gonna send out a radioactive cloud of Kryptonite gas, and if you are anywhere near it, it’ll kill you.”

“So I’ll make sure I’m not there when it goes off.” Kara answered.

She used her X-ray vision to locate where Lena was being held, and went in- as Winn, Alex, and Querl all exchanged worried looks.

“Kara Danvers believes in you.” They heard, after Kara crashed through what had to be a ceiling.

“Supergirl, you’re just in time. I’ve been wondering if these worked.” Lillian said. She threw a device at Kara, which she caught, but it emitted a loud noise that, to her super-sensitive hearing, was even more torturous. It alone brought her to her knees, making her sound pained.

“Supergirl?” Alex tried.

“Well. That was easy.” Lillian said. “Want to try more of these toys?”

“Don’t hurt her!” said Lena, but nobody seemed to be listening to her.

“Sorry, she’s got to pay for what her cousin did to your brother.” Lillian said.

Hank Henshaw threw Lena to the ground, and Metallo hoisted Kara up.

“Lock Supergirl in the vault.” Lillian ordered, as both Hank and Metallo held Kara’s arms behind her.

“Supergirl, if you can still hear me, Metallo’s Kryptonite heart- the rate of decay is ticking up.”

“Metallo’s heart is going to explode!” Kara tried to tell Lillian and the others. “You all need to leave. You have to get the- the Kryptonite out of him.”

“You’re lying.” Lillian said.

“I’m not.”

Metallo had his shirt open, and as much as it hurt Kara to look at, she could see the Kryptonite heart pulsing, the veins glowing bright green just under his skin.

“He’s going to die.” Kara tried again. 

“The only one about to die is you.” Metallo said.

But Kara mustered up enough strength to burn the device Lillian had thrown at her, and it was a good enough distraction that it got Metallo to let her go.

“Listen to me. The more Metallo uses his synthetic Kryptonite, the faster it’s decaying. Get out of there!” Querl said.

“Get out of there. Now!” Alex repeated.

Kara slowly got up as Metallo readied himself to shoot at her again, and he did- blasting her back, sending her into a bunch of boxes.

Henshaw and Lillian, meanwhile, decided to leave, and Kara got up after throwing a motorcycle at Metallo- which, naturally, he blew up.

“Kara, the Kryptonite is almost critical!”

Kara did the best she could to fight off Metallo, but he still had Kryptonite, and even if it wasn’t real it still worked like the real thing. Which, she supposed, was the entire point.

“Metallo- the pain in your chest- take it out. Let me help you!”

“You’re a liar.”

But J’onn came in then, and tossed Metallo into a wall.

“Get Lena! Let’s go!”

Kara knelt by Lena’s side, as Metallo advanced on them, and slowly pulled Lena into her arms.

“Kara, please!” Alex yelled, over the comms.

“Supergirl, get out of there now!”

Metallo’s heart glowed a much brighter green than before, and soon his eyes glowed green too- he screamed, and Kara couldn’t hesitate anymore. She flew, carrying Lena, refusing to look back. Even as the mountaintop lit up green, the gas billowing outward like a mushroom cloud.

“Kara!”  
“Kara!”  
“Kara!”

But neither Winn, nor Alex, nor Querl, could see her, and they assumed the worst- only to see blurry images of Kara and Lena, as well as J’onn, escape the facility.

~  
When Kara walked into the office the next day, LENA LUTHOR VINDICATED was the headline on the news, and Snapper was there, drinking a coffee.

“Now, I’m not usually one to gloat, or say I told you so, but…” she started, walking up to stand next to Snapper, looking up at the television screen. “Doesn’t seem like I was the one with confirmation bias.”

“Yesterday she was guilty.” Snapper said. “Today, she’s not. It’s not confirmation bias, Danvers, it’s just the news game. Since you got enough time on your hands to stand around and look up at that TV, how about you get out there and get an exclusive on Lena Luthor?”

 _That’s not even work, really._ Kara thought. _Or if it is, it’s a lot less nerve-wracking than say, reporting on pelican deaths. Maybe he really does think better of me now?_

“This time, try to spell “exclusive” right.” He added, before going back into his office.

Okay, she had things to work on, but to be fair- English was her second language.

She saw James there, as she started to leave, and stopped walking so he could catch up to her.

“Hey. Any word on Lillian Luthor?”

“Uh, satellite feed from the mountain showed a helicopter leaving before the explosion.”

“But no sign of her afterwards?”

Kara shook her head.

“Lillian and Henshaw got away.”

“Yeah.” James said, reluctantly. “You and Brainy were right. About Lena Luthor. And, I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

 _Yeah, that’s right, I told you so,_ Kara could’ve said. _You lived in Metropolis, hating Luthors was practically fate. No matter if they actually did anything or not._

“You know, I met Lena before she moved here.” James continued. “We… both testified, at Lex’s trial last year. At the time, I thought she only did it for her own good, because she wanted to take over Luthorcorp for herself and continue her version of her brother’s work. I really didn’t trust her- maybe because I associated her last name with how Lex tortured me, or maybe because I saw how his family treated Kryptonians. But now… I’m starting to know better. And I hope you know what you’re doing, becoming friends with her.”

“I’m her only friend in this city.” Kara said. “She said so herself. Besides, I can handle myself, even in a friendship with the sister of my cousin’s sworn enemy.”

_And possibly in a relationship with the ancestor of another of my cousin’s sworn enemies._

“Good luck.” James said.

“Yeah. You too.”

_We can still be friends, too. I don’t want to just shut you out by letting Lena in, all of a sudden._

“…You know, we haven’t had a game night in a while.” James said.

“Game night sounds great!” Kara answered, glad to have the previous awkwardness behind the two of them for now.

“Are you ever gonna let me win?”

“Never.”

“Sounds about right.” James said. “Deal.”

Kara stood on tiptoe to hug him, smiling as she patted his back.

_I’m really glad we’re still friends. And hopefully James doesn’t mind, if I invite Lena to game night someday._

~  
Kara opened the door to Brainy, who was carrying a bag of what appeared to be Valentine’s candy.

“Hey!”

“Hello. I know that this candy is half-price after your Valentine’s Day holiday, and so I should have waited, but I also know how much you do like candy. And I wanted to surprise you.” He said.

“That is so sweet!” Kara answered, as she took the bag from him. “But I think we should really share this.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, near-death experiences really increase your appetite.” She said. “I mean, that’s not a fact or anything, but it’s true for me.”

“Reasonable.” He answered. “I am glad you were able to escape alive. I was quite worried.”

“Yeah, me too.” Kara said. “But I did what I had to. Lena was in danger, and if I couldn’t get her out, what kind of hero would I be?”

_Indeed._

“A wise choice.” He said.

“Glad you think so.”

“And speaking of choices…” Kara started. “I can be strong, when standing my ground and protecting someone else. But when that someone is me, it’s a lot harder.”

_I can relate._

“Because I don’t like being vulnerable. And… we’re really different. But whenever I look at you, or think about you, I see someone I can connect to. Someone I want to be vulnerable around.”

“Oh?”

“Last year, I thought I could have it all. And then, I- I thought I couldn’t. That I had to pick. So I chose being Supergirl over having a relationship. And I told you that we could work on finding a balance, but what I really meant was that I wasn’t sure- and still worrying, about whether or not I really had to pick. I mean, being a hero is risky. And it means making sacrifices, sometimes. But family, and friends are worth keeping close- they’re the reason you’re a hero, the people you’re willing to do anything to protect. And… now, I realize that you’re one of those people too.”

Kara stepped closer to him, and he stood still as she looked him in the eyes.

“And you know what that’s like. Being a part of both lives, keeping your true identity a secret too- plus, you know, you’re from the future, from a notorious family, so that’s an even bigger burden. And I thought, if he can be so responsible, and do that much while uncertain about his first home… maybe I can also have it all.”

 _Superman can,_ she thought. _I know I’m just starting out, but it’s only fair that I should as well._

Querl’s eyes, as she saw them after he deactivated his image inducer, were a deep brown, and she felt like she could get lost in them as she leaned in.

He saw where she was going with this, evidently, and leaned in too- their lips were about to touch-

(a moment, Querl had to admit, he may have fantasized about. And… Kara had too)

Another interdimensional portal seemed to start opening in Kara’s living room, though, before they could.

Kara was expecting Barry. Or Cisco.

But the man who arrived was nobody she recognized, even if he did look a little like Brainy in his image inducer form.

He didn’t appear right away, though, as a trail of bright white and blue energy flew around the room. It zoomed around them a couple times, faster and faster, before solidifying right next to Kara’s television.

“Darling.” Said the man, standing on Kara’s windowsill.

“Who the hell are you?”

“My name is Mr. Mxyzptlk.” He said, straightening the suit jacket he wore. “And Kara Zor-El, I love you.”

_Oh, sprock._


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is the episode I didn't want to rewatch. And on rewatching, it... wasn't actually that bad. Still probably took me the longest to rewrite though. And it's the longest chapter overall.
> 
> Also, I'm on vacation right now! So my writing time will vary for the next few days. But I will try as hard as I can.
> 
> And I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Kara and Querl stared at him, the being who’d just arrived in Kara’s living room as they were about to have their first kiss.

Awfully rude, really. Of course, Querl had kissed other people, some leading to more successful relationships than others, but… he had a feeling that if he had gotten a chance to kiss Kara, and gone through with it, it would have blown them all away. He would have had his “Princess Bride” kiss moment, as described in the book Kara insisted on having him read in addition to watching the movie with her. And he hoped Kara would’ve felt the same, if that had happened.

But it looked like he was going to have to wait for that, because now there was a distraction in the room- someone who, from the looks of things, could very well have been a literal elephant in Kara’s literal room.

Kara, for her part, didn’t think this Mr. Mxyzptlk looked too bad. In fact, he kind of reminded her of Querl, when he wasn’t blue. But that didn’t change anything with regards to her trusting him, because she absolutely did _not_. For one, he had none of the affection that she so often saw in Querl’s eyes, and that made all the difference.

“First, let’s set the mood!” he said, making blue energy appear from his hands. “Candles!”

With a snap of his fingers, candles appeared on her coffee table and around her loft.

“Who are you?” Kara asked.

But he ignored her.

“Music!” he said, and musicians appeared, not noticing where they were.

“What the hell…”

“Next, flowers.” He said as he twirled around, making them appear all around the apartment as well. Even near the candles, although she had a suspicion that they wouldn’t burn even if she wanted them to.

“And for the pièce de résistance…”

He knelt in front of Kara, one hand out in front of her.

“The ring.”

Kara stared at him, but he continued.

“Kara, sweetie, it’s like I said, I’m your one true love, your soulmate, your one true pairing as the kids say. My name is Mxyzptlk and I love you, Kara Zor-El.”

Kara was at a loss for words, looking at Querl, who also had no idea what was going on.

“Uh-“

“Tell me. Will you marry me?”

He started to sing just a little bit, a song Querl recognized thanks to Kara showing him numerous Disney movies since he started going to her apartment regularly: _“I can show you the world…”_

“Oh, no.” Querl said, meeting him at his eye level. “I’m sorry, but you were intruding on a moment between Kara and I, and I think we both intended to get back to that.”

“Yeah, I don’t even _know_ you.” Kara answered. “How can I marry someone I just met? Nobody does that.”

“True, you’re far from being nobody.” Mxyzptlk said. “But when you can do anything, nobody is beyond convincing.”

“I don’t know how you got to this planet.” Querl answered. “However, if you know what is good for you, you’ll return to where you came from.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” He said, turning to Brainy. “Who are you again? Never mind, I don’t need to know. The real question is, how can someone as perfect as Kara Zor-El possibly be attracted to someone who’s such a… boring stick-in-the-mud?”

“I often wonder that myself. However, I do not believe I am in any way boring.”

_Boring is not usually a personality trait. Anyone can be interesting if they want to be- I just happen to be, because of the life I live._

But for some reason, Mxyzptlk was leaving him at a loss for words.

“Please. Can you do this?” he asked, and suddenly Querl was in his underwear, in the DEO- for no reason other than, most likely, to get him out of the way.

He’d never quite seen anyone like him. Well- that wasn’t entirely true. But he hadn’t had nearly this much power, nor had he been an adult who knew what they were doing and explicitly seemed interested in annoying those he was around because he could.

“Brainy?”

“Hello, J’onn.” He said. “I… need a change of clothes.”

“I’ll say.”

~

“What did you do with him?”

“Relax.” Mxyzptlk said. “He’s just letting it all hang out at the DEO. Thought it could bring him out of his shell a little bit.”

“Brainy is good as he is, you don’t need to change him.” Kara answered. “Even if you think he’s boring.”

_And if he might look good only wearing underwear._

“And you don’t need him at all.” He told her. “This is how it should be. Just you and me, together, without _Braini-ass_ around.”

He held up the ring again.

_“Shining, shimmering-“_

“Okay, stop!” Kara said. She pushed the ring down, hoping she’d never see it again. “Stop. I don’t know who you are, or how you got here, My- Mx- M-“

“Myxzptlk.” He said. “Spelled like it sounds.”

The name appeared in blue letters behind her, floating in midair, and Kara was no less confused.

“Alright, Mxyzptlk.” She said. “Just start again, and start slow. Where are you from?”

“They call me the interdimensional man-about-town.” He started. “It doesn’t matter where I’m from, sweet cheeks. So let’s get this knot… tied!”

Suddenly, then, Kara was wearing something new.

“What? Are you kidding me? You can’t just put me in a wedding dress.” She said.

“Why not? It’s Vera Wang.”

“This is not okay!” Kara said. She would’ve torn the dress, except she wasn’t sure what it was actually made of, and if it was real and wouldn’t fade after he left, she might want to keep it.

(Even if, whenever she would get married, she’d wear her mother’s dress- or as close an approximation she could make, from what she’d seen)

He put the ring away.

“Okay, I’m sorry.” He said. “I came on strong. I’m just… enthusiastic, to finally be here with you!”

_So was Brainy. He didn’t put me in a wedding dress when we first met._

“How do you even know who I am?”

A violin started being played in the background, as he explained.

“I watched you across the dimensions.” He said. “Eternity of lovelessness. There’s no one like you where I’m from, Kara. A woman as strong or independent. Or as beautiful, or as brave, or as bold…”

She knew Brainy thought the same things, had seen what she’d done in the future and could say something similar, coming from a planet she already thought was terrible. But again, the difference couldn’t be more obvious.

He started to run a hand down her arm, and she flinched.

“Okay, look. Look.” She said, stopping that too. “I’m flattered. But I’m not gonna marry you, Mxyzptlk.”

“You know, that’s funny.” He answered. “I’m all-seeing and all-powerful. But that’s one of the few things I can’t make you do. That, and make you fall in love with me. And/or stop you from killing yourself. And/or make you drink orange juice for some reason. Anything else, yes, but go figure.”

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m just not interested.”

“Don’t be sorry, buttercup.” He said, smiling knowingly- even though, as all-seeing as he was, he didn’t seem to know anything about her at all. “I know what you’re doing. You’re playing hard to get, which is utterly charming and delightful, by the way.”

“What? No, no I’m not.”

“You’re flustered. You’re confused. Your heart is racing- I have that effect on women. But let me tell you how this works. I chose you as my mate, and now I will woo you and wow you with breathtaking feats until you fall madly in love with me. And fear not, Kara Zor-El, you will fall in love with me. Once you’ve been adored by the all-powerful Mxy, there’s no going back-sy. Ciao, mi amore.”

He left, and as he snapped again everything romantic in Kara’s apartment vanished with him. Kara was back in normal clothes, like nothing had happened.

But she made no mistake, something very, very clearly had.

~  
“You’ve just been visited by a fifth-dimensional being.” J’onn announced, as Kara and Querl followed him into the DEO.

“Wait, you’ve seen one of these before?”

“Not here on Earth- on Mars.” He said. “One of them moved mountains during the Zook Uprising. Fifth-dimensional lifeforms possess the ability to warp our reality to their own whims- that appears, by all intents and purposes, to be magic.”

“When Clark was with the Legion, we ran into a young child from a planet of sorcerers.” Querl added. “He caused quite a lot of mischief, in an effort to simply stay away from home, and one of our number nearly caused a war with the United Planets by accident just to try and get him back to where he came from. And then, of course, she had to surrender so he would be taken back. Which led to some problems, as her mother was the President… but of course none of the beings on this sorcerers’ planet are from the fifth dimension, so it is really a matter of me knowing what such beings could do, without knowing specifically what Mxyzptlk will do. Especially where you are concerned.”

“Then we’ll have to be cautious.” Kara said. “And have a plan.”

“As we always do.”

“Agent Schott, scan the archives for anything resembling fifth-dimensional incursions here on Earth.”

“Close encounters of the fifth kind, you got it.” Winn said. “Oh, hey, J’onn, we are ready to send your message to Mars whenever you are.”

“What message?”

“On Earth, it’s customary to send messages on Valentine’s Day. We had a similar custom on Mars.”

“Well, it’s too bad you can’t call her.” Kara said, adjusting her glasses. She was really happy for J’onn, even though M’Gann had left- although she had been a White Martian, she was proof that they could change, and she and J’onn had gradually become friends despite all odds.

Close enough friends, in fact, that he wanted to send her something of a Valentine. Or, no- it was an actual Valentine, going by how J’onn described it.

“We Martians are a psychic people.” He said. “All our communication was through thought. But when we had something really important to say, we would often write it down. On some planets, to write something down is to truly say it.”

“Well, I’m sure M’Gann will be very happy to hear from you.” Kara said.

“Yes. And I can make certain your message reaches her, if you do not mind.” Querl added.

“Thank you.”

Kara smiled to herself, leaning on the DEO table and just thinking about it- being far away from a place she’d lived for so many years, going back to the home she’d chosen to reject only to get a message from a friend she had met while living in that other place. Reading about how that friend was keeping the world spinning, that they were thinking of her…

It only made her heart ache more for her parents, who only left AIs of themselves for Kara. Kryptonian sunstones, full of information, stored in the Fortress of Solitude- because those were the most important. But nothing personal, even though just seeing the hologram of her mother had made Kara want to break down and weep, throwing herself on her mother and hoping she liked warm hugs as much as Kara did.

“This Day of Valentine. I have done research on it- what would you like to do?” Querl asked. “To make up for…”

He didn’t need to say it, Kara definitely knew what he meant, and she already didn’t want to remember him.

“Yeah.” Kara said. “I hope we can pick up where we left off- just, after dealing with Mxy.”

“Yes. I can’t imagine fighting a being such as that, or even trying to reason with him, without being able to fully concentrate. Though for me, concentrating is easy-“

“Yeah. Me too.” Kara answered.

“Good. In that case, I also wish to get back to that.”

And with any luck, they would- except knowing who they were dealing with, they’d have to go through a lot of obstacles to get there.

“But first, we have to get rid of him.”

“Yes.” Querl said. “Although seeing how you are apparently his preferred target of interest; I believe you will have to ultimately do the deed. And however you decide to do so, I will follow such a method.”

“Thank you. Right. Before you know it, he will be back in his own dimension-“

Kara put her hands on Querl’s shoulders, bringing him close to her again (he cataloged that moment, remembering the gentle pressure of her hands, how close she was exactly to him, how her perfume smelled… and, especially, how lucky he was just to be around her right now) and gave him the brightest smile she could manage in that circumstance.

“And then you and I can celebrate Valentine’s Day together.” She said. “I promise.”

~  
But of course, even on Valentine’s Day bad guys never took holidays- which was why Kara was called in to stop a jewelry store robbery.

“Hey, boys!” Kara called, as she landed behind them. They pointed guns at her, but unless they were like the alien guns used by Cadmus or carried Kryptonite bullets, she wasn’t worried. “What’s the hurry?”

They shot her, of course, but the bullets were normal, and thus barely tickled her.

“You’re wasting your ammo, you know that, right? They can’t hurt me.”

“But will the bullets hurt them?”

And then Mxyzptlk (as he would) appeared beside her. Because she couldn’t do just one thing that she would’ve done any other day without him being there to annoy her.

“Mxy?”

“Hello, blossom.” He said. He snapped his fingers again, and the guns turned around in midair, aiming now at the robbers. Mxy’s energy surrounded them, making sure they couldn’t move.

“What are you doing?”

“I saw this in a movie once.” Mxy answered. Another snap, and the guns were about to go off-

“No!”

Kara rushed in front of them, blocking two of the bullets with her whole body and catching another one.

“Thank you, Supergirl!” one of the robbers said, but Kara just restrained herself enough to elbow him so that it would only knock him out.

“Let… the wooing… begin.” Said Mxy, in response.

_You’re really never gonna stop, are you?_

~  
“Where is Mxyzptlk now?” J’onn asked.

The fifth-dimensional being of the hour had disappeared shortly after Kara stopped the robbery, and as much as she was grateful for it, she still felt a vague sense of dread because not only had he not left her alone, he practically promised he was going to be back.  
With a vengeance, even.

“I don’t know, he snapped away.” Kara said. “I thought he was after me, but he almost killed those guys. He’s a lot more dangerous than I thought.”

“Agreed.” J’onn answered. “Agent Schott, have you found any records of humans dealing with these lifeforms?”

“Uh, yes, actually, lots.” He said, as Brainy brought the images Winn had found up onto the big monitor in the command center. “Take from it what you will, but between genies, jinn, and leprechauns, I mean humans have been documenting contact with reality-bending creatures for centuries.”

“And in the future?” J’onn asked.

“No, there is only the case I mentioned previously.” Querl said. “You’re lucky you don’t have to deal with a world of bureaucratic sorcerers, or a child version of Mxyzptlk- who knows how much chaos he could cause? But I’ve come to the conclusion that if we want to trap him- and we will, as I have a code against killing my enemies…”

“Yeah, I do too.” Kara said. “Trapping him works for me.”

“Then we will have to outsmart him.” He answered. “Teach him a lesson he will never forget- not to mess with Supergirl. And… Kara will have to find out how to properly banish him from this world.”

“Right. Of course I do.”

“Yes, because you are the one he trusts most, the one he cares about in this realm of reality. He will tell you, and you will find a way to make him banish himself.”

“You know that for sure?”

Querl nodded.

“I do trust you, Kara. I know you have the ability to plan something of the sort.”

“And I know that plans are what you specialize in, so why don’t we work together on this?”

“You can certainly handle yourself.” Querl said, trying to hide the blush that he suspected had appeared on his face. “But I will assist wherever I can. Thank you.”

“So, we’re going non-lethal on this one?” Winn asked.

“Yes.”

“Great! Let me know if anything really terrible happens. Otherwise, I have a date with James and I’d prefer to keep the distractions to a minimum, thank you very much.”

“Date as in Guardian stuff?” Kara asked.

Winn fought hard not to roll his eyes.

“Date as in, we’re having dinner tonight. Because it’s Valentine’s Day, and I asked him out after- not important. Basically, there was an altercation in a bar, he kinda saved my life, I already really liked him and we’ve become really good friends, so I decided to take a chance and take him out to dinner. And he said yes.”

“Oh.” Kara said, not sure how to respond. “Good luck!”

“I echo the sentiment.” Querl answered. “Congratulations.”

“Aw, it’s just one date.” Winn said. “Nothing serious yet. But thanks, anyway.”

_Even though I hope it will be serious. But knowing my luck, I’m not counting on it._

“The DEO has some recovered alien artifacts in the sub-basement store room.” J’onn said, as Winn turned back to his computer, and Brainy ignored that he was looking up formal outfits that one would wear on a date, instead of any more information on creatures like Mxyzptlk. “Maybe one of them could send Mxyzptlk back to the fifth dimension. Or at least suppress his powers.”

“I will have them brought up.” Winn said, closing out of his tab.

“Good.”

~

“You know, Brainy’s being really calm about this whole Mxyzptlk situation.” Kara said, as she and Alex were walking back to Kara’s apartment. “You’d think he’d get really jealous, or angry- especially because Mxy called him a Braini-ass, and boring and stuff. And because Mxy is into me.”

“But he’s not jealous, or angry?”

“No! At least, not that I can see. And not that he’s told me, right now. He’s just really invested in making a plan. He says that I have to be the one to outsmart Mxy and trap him, and convince him to tell me how to banish him back to where he comes from.”

“Well, Mxy is the one who wants to marry you.” Alex answered. “And if there’s anything I can help with too, let me know.”

Kara unlocked the door to her apartment, slowly opening it just in case something was lurking behind it.

And as it turned out, she was kind of right- the apartment was full of flowers. Mostly red ones, and she saw a lot of roses.

“Mxy is… persistent.” Kara said. 

“Yeah.”

Kara grabbed the nearest vase, again hoping that the flowers in it were real and weren’t going to disappear any time soon, and handed it to Alex.

“Oh, hey!” she said. “Why don’t you give these to Maggie? Maybe she’ll enjoy them.”

“Oh.” Alex answered, not taking the vase.

“What’s wrong?”

“I… need some advice. About Valentine’s Day.” She said.

Kara didn’t even consider anything negative about Alex’s tone, for the moment. With everything going on with her right then, or at least on that day, she needed something positive to focus on.

“Oh my god, it’s your first Valentine’s Day with Maggie, that’s so exciting!” she gushed. “Oh, you have to go to-“

Kara told Alex, as she moved some of the flowers over to the sink, about a restaurant she’d gone to once, that Cat had been a regular at, but Alex didn’t seem enthusiastic about it.

“Yeah, well, I don’t need a reservation Kara. That’s… that’s precisely the problem.” She said. “Um… Maggie hates Valentine’s Day.”

“That’s… kind of a bummer.” Kara answered.

And this was coming from someone who hadn’t understood Valentine’s Day at the beginning of her time on Earth- “You’re only allowed to show that you love someone on one day?” she remembered asking Eliza. “That’s sad. Humans are sad.”

Eliza told her, then, about the meaning behind the holiday, and the love that it celebrated (which Kara liked, even though she wasn’t much into the history aspect- although part of the appeal was that it was near when she arrived on Earth for the first time. And, also, half-priced candy at stores the day afterwards. Which would always be a plus, for the major holidays that sold candy), and by the end Kara had been convinced. But it looked like Maggie’s problem with the holiday could run deeper than just not getting it.

“I know, I know, it’s silly.” Alex said. “But after so many Valentine’s Days alone, I was just finally excited to be in a relationship where we could celebrate all the cheesy stuff couples celebrate.”

Kara got out a bottle of wine, and two glasses.

“That’s not silly at all.” She said. “And maybe she doesn’t really hate Valentine’s Day… but I bet if you asked, she might open up to you about it.”

“She called it a manufactured holiday for patsies.” Alex stated flatly.

“…That’s… okay, the trimmings aren’t her style.” Kara said. “But really, it won’t do you any harm just to talk with her. And you can celebrate your own way, what kind of stuff does she like?”

“I don’t know, guns?” Alex said, looking anxious.

“Anything else?”

“…She loves scotch.”

“That’s good.”

“Oh! And she loves tiramisu. I mean, could eat it for every meal. Literally, it’s like her happy food. And she loves… bonsai trees. Which I know is totally random, but I mean, I find it adorable.”

“That’s all great.” Kara said. “So, why don’t you… create a tailor made, Maggie Valentine’s Day? And you can reinvent the holiday for the both of you?”

Alex and Kara clinked their glasses together, and Alex gave her a nervous laugh.

“Thanks, Kara.” She said. “And good luck to you too, with Brainy-“

Just then, there was some commotion outside, and Kara and Alex rushed to the window to see what exactly was happening.

“Parasite?”

“How is he still alive?”

“I don’t know. Stay here.” Kara said, as she opened her window and jumped out of it, changing into her Supergirl uniform on the way down. There were people shooting at the Parasite, but it was just as big and destructive as it was the last time, causing explosions just by throwing cars around.

“Hey!” Kara shouted, getting its attention as she landed. “I thought you were dead!”

Then, the really weird thing happened- it actually spoke.

“You’re the one who’s dead.” It said.

Kara shot heat vision at it, and it fell back, as Kara turned to watch another explosion that had just happened before her. But while she was distracted, Parasite knocked her away, sending her into a nearby car.

Just as Parasite roared at her, Brainy arrived, and tried to distract it- which only made the creature angrier, and caused Brainy to be thrown back.

“You okay?”

“I was going to ask you the same question. But yes, I am intact.”

“Good.” Kara said.

But just as they both prepared to take on the Parasite again, they saw someone soaring above them.

“Look, up in the sky!” someone said, as a crowd was forming on the street.

“It’s a bird!”

“It’s a plane!”

“It’s-“

Someone who looked very much like Superman landed, and the Parasite was taken out- just as yet another explosion was about to go off. But this Superman was able to nullify it with his freeze breath, with Kara also contributing.

“Superman?”

But of course, she couldn’t be nearly that lucky. It was Mxyzptlk, wearing Superman’s costume- except with a giant stylized M where his House of El crest would have been.

“Not quite.”

“Mxy.” Kara sighed. “Are you serious.”

“Well, I thought you could use a little extra help, Supey baby.”

“First, do not call me baby.” Kara said.

_It’s bad enough that I get called Supergirl… or at least, I used to think that. Now, it’s not so bad. But that nickname, especially from someone like him… I can’t deal with that._

“Second, I already have help.” Kara answered. “I have Brainy!”

“Yes.” Querl said. “I am not, as Kara might say, “chopped liver.”.”

“Yeah, that’s a laugh.” Mxy answered. “You were lucky I flew in when I did, Supergirl. I mean, do you think this fraud could’ve helped you save the day?”

“He’s been a part of a team of superheroes for years, so yeah, I think so.” Kara said. “Even if it looked like he was losing, he was doing his best to help.”

“With what superpower? I guess he could’ve knocked it out with his diploma.” Mxy answered.

“Hey, that’s-“

“Oh, would you like me to demonstrate what I can really do?” Querl asked. “I have an inhibitor right now. But if something were to conveniently happen to cause it to deactivate…”

“I don’t think we need to go that far.” Kara said.

“Spoken like a true Coluan.” Mxy answered, ignoring Kara for once. “You’re nothing but an arrogant know-it-all. I mean, this goddess requires a man who’s equal in her powers and wits, who becomes her aide when villains suddenly pop up.”

“Hey, I’m not a goddess-“

 _And I am her equal,_ Querl thought. _Or at least someone who thinks he is worthy of being by her side. I have been trying to be her aide all along. But you…_

_You suddenly appear and any problems just go away._

“You’re not a real fighter.” Querl said. “You do not know struggle.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.” He answered. “And… I calculate a high probability that you summoned the Parasite here yourself, only so you could show up and save the city from a problem you caused.”

“I was just about to say the same thing.” Kara said, exchanging a worried look with Brainy. “The Parasite… this was all you?”

“Yes. He is only trying to impress you.” Querl answered.

“What’s the problem with that? It isn’t like you’ve been doing much.” Mxy said. “There’s so much more out there than just you.”

“I know.”

Querl looked down at the ground, bowing his head and folding his hands behind him.

“What?”

“I am completely aware of this fact.” He said. “Kara does deserve better. I admit, you are my superior.”

“R-really?”

“Why yes. It is enough that, were I a fifth-dimensional being, I would simply say my name backwards and accept my exile from this plane of existence.”

Mxy stared at him, but said nothing.

“Wait, is that how you send him away?” Kara asked.

Mxy still didn’t answer, but the shock on his face spoke volumes.

“Okay.” Kara said. “I can handle this.”

“Very well.” Querl answered. “I will leave.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll meet up with you later.” Kara answered. “Just- stay safe, go help J’onn. Keep an eye on the city, make sure no one is hurt if other weird stuff starts to happen. Alright?”

“Yes.” Querl said. “I understand.”

Kara gave him a small smile and kissed him on the cheek, before he flew away.

“I thought he would never leave.” Mxy commented. “Finally, darling. We’re alone.”

Kara got closer to him, reminding herself that soon- if she could figure something out, and she knew she would- she wouldn’t have to do so again.

“What is it gonna take to get you off this planet.” She said flatly.

“It’s like I said.” Mxy answered. “It’s gonna take two little words. I… do. Or things will look very bad for your world.”

~  
After Kara got back to the DEO, again with no idea of what Mxy would do next, she and Querl briefly reconvened. But all he could do, in that situation, was thank her- she’d defended his honor, she’d protected him from Mxyzptlk potentially snapping him off to Kaznia or something because he believed he was so useless. How could he be anything but thankful for her?

Still, however, he needed time to think- and in the process of doing so, he wandered into a nearly-empty DEO conference room.

“Winn?” Querl asked. “I thought you were with James.”

“I am. I- I mean… I’m going to. I’m just… nervous, man. I’m afraid that we’re going to ruin our friendship. I don’t know… do you have any advice?”

Querl put a hand on Winn’s shoulder.

“I am aware that you may not believe me, but I have dated one of my best male friends.” He said. “One who was…”

He looked Winn up and down.

“A lot like you, actually.”

“You dated my descendant?”

“No, do not be ridiculous. I merely meant that you two share a basic physical resemblance. And that he was human, and would often disguise his true feelings with humor- often directed at me, unfortunately. But he was also very intelligent, and we found ourselves working closely together, again and again… and we found that we enjoyed one another’s company very much. He was, more often than not, the one who would keep me grounded- though I believed I did not require self-care, as work was more important, he made me eat when I had not in many hours, and sleep when I had not done so in four days, one time. And in return, I helped take care of him. We were very close, and were it not for the fact that our work in the Legion required us to distance ourselves from one another, we might still be. Though I still do care about him- he was the first person who cared about me, as myself.”

Winn smiled.

“And I guess I can’t know his name?”

“Not at all.” Querl said. “Not yet. But the point is, I too was afraid- afraid of getting too close to people, of being rejected due to my background. You, I know, have the same issue- and yet you have made many friends here. People who care about you, and protect you with their lives. James is no different, yes?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you need not worry.” Querl answered. “Your friendship will not be ruined only because your relationship may become a romantic one. Friendships, as I’ve found, only strengthen romantic bonds, regardless of which came first.”

Winn, to put it lightly, was speechless.

“Whoa.” He said. “When did you become such a romance expert?”

“Since I became a part of a superhero group as an adolescent, and grew into early adulthood witnessing countless relationships, both platonic and romantic- and those that could go either way.” Querl said. “You and James will be fine. And you should go have fun- take the night off, while you can.”

Winn blinked.

“That’s… strangely ominous.”

“Do not read into it.” Querl said, guilt showing on his face. “If I believed in it, I would wish you good luck.”

“Yeah.” Winn said, mouth suddenly dry. “Good luck to you, too. With Kara.”

Querl nodded.

“Thank you. If I am not mistaken, I believe you’re late for your date?”

“Right. Thank you so much.” Winn answered, grabbing his jacket. “I’ll… be brave. And I’m gonna tell you how things go.”

“And I will be eager to hear about that.” Querl said. “Godspeed.”

Winn left then, and Querl’s heart felt lighter- though immediately heavy again, thinking of the living obstacle that still plagued his and Kara’s relationship.

Kara would figure it out, though.

Of course she would.

~  
“Kl-tp-zy-xm.” Kara pronounced. She sounded it out a couple more times, as it was spelled out in front of her on her tablet.

“What language is that?” J’onn asked.

“It’s Mxyzptlk spelled backwards.” Kara said. “But maybe Brainy was wrong- never thought I’d say that- maybe I can’t get him to say it.”

“For the record, I don’t doubt Brainy either.” J’onn answered. “Especially when it comes to his thoughts on you. But if not, Winn left a number of things that could work.”

All manner of devices, ideal for trapping or banishing fifth-dimensional beings, were strewn over the table in the DEO conference room. 

“Most of the relics tested negative for fifth-dimensional energy.” J’onn said, killing Kara’s ideal. “However, there was one that might be of some use.”

“Really? What does it do?”

“Cuts off his connection to the fifth dimension.” He answered. “Essentially, it leaves him powerless. If he’s exposed to it, there’s not much he can do to stop you.”

Kara nodded, and took the device from the case and put it in one of her super-suit’s pockets.

“Then it’ll have to work. Hey- do you know where Brainy is?”

~  
By the time she located him, she found both him and Mxy in a theater- dressed in Revolutionary War-era clothes that Winn would’ve appreciated if he were there- and Brainy was hanging from the rafters, tied up with chains wrapped tightly around him.

Also, Mxy was pointing a gun at him.

“Stop!” Kara said. “What’s going on here?”

“He forced me into a duel.” Brainy answered. “He kidnapped me-“

“He fought back.” Mxy said. “Albeit, with a very strange fighting style. But I’m sure whatever it was that he was trying to do, he was also trying to kill me. It would be better for all of us if I snuff him out. How can you possibly be interested in this man, Kara?”

“I know, I know.” Kara answered. “But… I’ve been thinking about it, and I’ve decided.”

“Decided what?”

“I will marry you, Mxyzptlk.” She said.

“You will?”

“You will?”

“Yes!” Kara answered, smiling- though nothing like the smiles she’d given Querl in the past. “You’re right. You’re gifted, brilliant, and together we can do anything.”

Querl took solace in the fact that she was describing their relationship as well- and that this, inevitably, was part of her plan.

“I will take you as my husband.” She continued.

Mxy moved forward and took her arm, smiling at her, and Querl would’ve looked away if he hadn’t been forced to watch- which, for Mxy, was probably an intentional move.

“Darling, you and I are gonna be the ultimate power couple.” He said, before he snapped his fingers, and Querl found himself at the DEO.

~  
“Couldn’t have him intruding.” Mxy said, as he squeezed Kara’s arm. Kara pretended not to be annoyed. “Now, let’s get this show on the road, shall we? I’ll get our officiant. You want the Pope, or a rabbi, or-“

“It would mean the world to me, if I followed Kryptonian custom, and got married on the soil of my people.” She said.

“Kryptonian soil coming up.” Mxy answered. He started to snap, and Kara worried for a moment that he’d bring up Kryptonite, so she interrupted him.

“I meant the Fortress of Solitude.” She said. “I’ll wear my mother’s dress. Just meet me there tomorrow at noon.”

“I’ll see you soon… wife.”

Mxy kissed her on the cheek, before leaving, and Kara was left with less than a day to finish figuring out her plan.

Hopefully, it would be enough.

~  
Kara let Querl into her apartment the next day.

“I hope you’re not jealous.” She said, after recounting her version of the plan so far, and how Mxy had reacted to it. “Or angry. I mean, I didn’t even really want to do this, I’m not in love with him, but I think I had to… no, I know I did. It was the only way I could see to make him stop, so he wouldn’t hurt anyone, or even kill anyone- especially not you.”

Of course he wasn’t going to stop if Kara didn’t do anything to stop him. Querl knew the type of being Mxyzptlk was, and the types of things they could do just because they wanted attention. And in this case, his need for attention was more a need for love, in whatever twisted definition of the word that he saw, from one person in particular- damn everyone else in her life. He didn’t blame her for attempting to appease him, in exactly the way he wanted.

But at the same time… there were points at which he wished he could do exactly what Mxy did, give Kara everything she wanted and needed with just a snap.

Even though he tried to do the same, minus the magic.

“I trust you.” He said. “And I hope he can appreciate just how beautiful you will look in your mother’s dress.”

“One of the two things I took with me from Krypton, that were hers.” She said.

_And that you will give back._

“That is good.” Querl answered. “The reminder that your family will always be with you, in these most difficult situations.”

_Like mine has never been._

Kara let out something that was halfway towards being a laugh.

“Yeah, I don’t know if I’d describe Mxy as difficult… okay, yeah. But also, I know I have you behind me, in case I mess up. You, Alex, J’onn, Winn, James, Maggie- my other family.”

Querl felt his face grow warm, even though he knew already that Kara considered him as such. It never hurt to be reminded, though, especially when Kara was about to supposedly marry someone else.

He reached out and took her hand.

“I will support you no matter what happens.” He said.

“Thanks. You too.”

_That means a lot, right now. More than you know._

“I’m glad you’ve listened, about all of this.” Kara said, giving him a hug. He gave good hugs, she observed- his hands would always be positioned high on her shoulders, and their faces were pressed against one another’s, bringing them close. “This will all be over soon. I promise. And we will be a great team.”

_And I also promise that you can be honest with me, about whatever you’re feeling. Even if it isn’t the nicest thing._

“Good luck, Kara Zor-El. I will be standing by in case you need anything.”

“That’s very good to know.”

~  
“Kara, darling? Where are you?” Mxy asked, as he waited in the Fortress for her. “It’s time! You said noon, and here I am. Kara?”

“I can hear you.” Kara said, as she landed. She was there, in her super-suit, and as he watched her, she drank a glass of orange juice. She would have, anyway, but today she really enjoyed it, knowing what she was about to do.

“Where’s the dress?” he asked. “The flowers, the pigs in a blanket?”

Kara ignored him, as she drank more of her orange juice.

“Ah.” She said. “See, that’s the thing, Mxy. I’m not going to marry you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I brought you to the Fortress in case you got violent again, because I didn’t want anyone to get hurt when I broke the news.” She said. “It’s not going to work between us.”

“Oh, like it would work with you and that Brainiac boy?”

“Yes.” Kara said. “But that’s not the point. We’re not going to work out, ever.”

“You don’t love me?”

“Love isn’t making demands of someone or forcing them to marry you.” Kara answered. “Love is putting someone else’s needs above your own.”

_And Querl is far better at that than you are, buddy._

“So you brought me all the way here, just to reject me?”

He snapped his fingers, and suddenly the giant statue of Jor-El began to move, staring icily at Kara.

“I think you’re going to have to explain your lack of judgment to your family.”

He said some other stuff Kara wasn’t listening to, as she only concentrated on Jor-El dropping the globe he held up alongside the statue of her aunt Lara, and hoped that either after this, things would go back to normal, or that she could rebuild these statues well enough that Clark wouldn’t notice the next time he went there.

“I could’ve made you a god, like me!” was one of the things Mxy shouted, trying to convince her to marry him as she flew around the statue, dodging it. It had fully come to life, and was being turned against her- just one more thing from her home planet that was poisoned now. The thought angered her, and she only tried harder to avoid Jor-El.

“Okay, no. I am _not_ a god.” Kara said. “And I don’t want to be one. I just want you off of Earth.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do until after we’re married!”

“Sorry, uncle Jor-El.” Kara said to the statue, not acknowledging Mxy or his words. Then she flew at it, making it shatter, before standing in front of Mxy.

_What’s next?_

“You think this is the worst things can get?” he asked. “One snap and I’ll crack your world in half. And where will you go, Kryptonian? Would you really be responsible for the loss of another world? I’ll hound you across the stars, Kara, until you admit that you love me.”

“I’m done with this, Mxyzptlk.” Kara said. “And I’m done with you. You wanna get nuts? Let’s get nuts.”

She made sure he didn’t see what she was doing, entering the code and standing in front of the computer confidently as a voice said, Now sealing the Fortress of Solitude.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Setting the Atomic Cauldron to self-destruct.”

“Atomic what now?”

“The Fortress has one of the most powerful fusion furnaces on Earth.” Kara answered, casually, as though she were just talking about her own fireplace at home. (And, really, that was true- as this could be considered the closest she had to her real home. Although her true home on this planet was her apartment, or anywhere Alex was) “I’m overloading the sunstones at its core.”

“Okay. Kara, let’s not be too hasty, here…” Mxy said. Fifth-dimensional being as he was, this seemed to unnerve him, which made Kara smile. Now, she knew her plan was working. “Maybe we should just, um…”

_Atomic Cauldron fusion increased two thousand percent._

A shower of sparks went up, to illustrate that point, and Kara went on.

 

“When the Cauldron goes up, it’ll explode with the force of a four hundred megaton bomb.” She said. “Fortress is sealed, so it should contain the blast, but anyone inside it…”

“That sounds bad.”

“You can’t stop me from killing myself.” Kara answered. “It’s in the rules.”

_Please, Rao… make this work._

“…Okay.” Mxy finally said. “There’s only room for one crazy person in this relationship. Maybe we should just control-alt-delete this and, uh, talk this over with a cup of Thoni tea.”

“Being with you would mean being at odds every day with my heart, Mxyzptlk.” Kara said.

_As tempting as that tea sounds._

“I’d rather die in here than be with you.”

_Preferably, I’d die sacrificing myself for Alex, or my cousin, or saving the world- or considering Barry Allen and what he said, saving multiple universes. But for a demonstration of how far I would go, to make a point to this guy who won’t leave me alone… this is enough._

_Atomic Cauldron detonation countdown initiated._

“Well, here’s the thing.” Mxy said. “I’m calling your bluff. I don’t believe that you’d destroy all of this!”

It was true, she wouldn’t. She didn’t want to destroy the Solar Hammer, or Clark’s Legion ring, or the pod that had brought him to Earth, or anything else in here. The Fortress was a part of her heritage, one that she knew had been previously established on Krypton by her great-great-grandfather. And her cousin had built it here- never expecting that his cousin was going to threaten to blow it all up.

Mxy wasn’t going to know that, though, as much as he claimed to love and understand her.

_Atomic Cauldron detonation in one minute._

Mxy finally raised his arms over his head, accepting defeat.

“Okay! Please. I’ll do anything. Just don’t die.”

“Sorry.” Kara said. “I- I’m not gonna tell you the cancellation code.”

Mxy only stared at Kara, before going to the computer.

“Oh. So there’s a code.” He said, looking down at the keyboard.

But just as soon, he looked back up, after concentrating on it intensely.

“I can’t read this.” He said. He materialized a Kryptonese to English dictionary, and started to flip through it frantically.

_Atomic Cauldron detonation in thirty seconds._

Kara had to admit, she was really enjoying watching him sweat.

“I don’t have time to learn your stupid moon language!” he cried out in frustration.

“Hey, don’t disrespect Kryptonese like that.” She said.

He didn’t respond, only turning around and dropping to his knees before her.

“Please, Supergirl, I am literally begging you.” He answered. “Don’t do this. I’ll do anything. You want world peace? You got it, I can make that happen. Just… don’t kill yourself.”

_Thirty seconds left. The detonation is real, it’s time for him to go._

“The world needs Supergirl.”

_And it needs Kara Zor-El, as well as Kara Danvers._

_Fifteen seconds to Atomic Cauldron detonation._

_Do I have enough time?_

Mxyzptlk jumped to his feet.

“Please, tell me the code!”

Kara went to the computer, and he followed her. 

“Push that one.” She said. “And that one-“

She continued, until the Atomic Cauldron detonation was cancelled, and the letters in the deactivation code (displayed before both of them) spelled out _Kltpzyxm._

“No.” he said. “You made me write my name backwards.”

“Yup.” Kara answered. “On some planets, to write something down is to truly say it.”

“You tricked me.”

“Noooo.” Kara said. “No, I followed the rules. You say your name backwards, you go back to the fifth dimension, no questions asked.”

“That’s it.” He answered. “You…”

He said an insult she’d rather not remember, and then he started to fade away.

“I just… wanted someone to love me.” He said, in a way that made Kara almost feel sorry for him.

“You can’t force love, Mxyzptlk.” Kara answered. “You have to let it find you.”

_Like it’s recently found me._

He didn’t answer, before disappearing, and Kara looked around the Fortress for a moment to confirm that it was back to normal.

(Which it was, thankfully.)

Then, she headed back home.

~  
When Querl got to her apartment, Kara was in normal clothes again- a white long-sleeved shirt with extra-long sleeves, that was one of the comfiest things she owned, and black pants- but she looked no less beautiful than when she was in that wedding dress, or even in her superhero uniform.

“May I come in?” he asked.

She let him in, and both of them stood there for a moment, not sure what to talk about.

“I admit. I may have been jealous.” He continued. “But I should not have been- because you are… stunning. You out-tricked the most cunning, intergalactic trickster, and you did it your way, without any violence. If I may flatter myself; it is exactly what I would have done. And, to put it in one word, it was brilliant.”

“High praise coming from the twelfth-level intellect.” Kara said, fiddling with her shirt sleeves.

“I speak the truth.” He said. “And I never once doubted you. I never will, in fact.”

“Good to know.”

Querl nodded.

“I have been giving this a lot of thought lately, and I realized… you are my yellow sun, Kara.” he said. “I have never felt like this before, I did not even know that there were this many feelings to be had, but it is true. Even though I do not rely on the sun as you do, I find it an appropriate metaphor. I look to it for warmth, and to literally brighten my day- you do both for me. You make me stronger, and inspire me- just like the sun would do for you. You are my strength, and indeed my sunshine… and my life would indeed be much darker without either you or the knowledge of you in it. I’m really glad you’re okay.”

Kara smiled, and put her arms around Querl, as he hugged her.

“You’re my sunshine too.” She said. “Every person I care about is- but especially you. And I couldn’t be more grateful that you’re here, Querl.”

Later, when looking back at the moment, neither Querl nor Kara remembered who moved first, whose lips touched the other’s first. All they remembered was that perfect Valentine’s Day kiss, and how much they belonged together- how they’d finally figured things out.

They continued kissing, and fell onto the couch together, never once breaking apart or pausing.

And as they kissed, neither of them were completely sure of their future together- but whatever happened, they were going to face it stronger than ever.

This was, truly, the beginning of something beautiful.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! (/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Kwanzaa/any other holidays you all may or may not celebrate! And if you don't celebrate anything I hope you're still having a good time!)
> 
> or should I say, Merry Crisis! Because between last chapter and now, the first 3 parts of Crisis on Infinite Earths have aired, we are in the middle of crossover season, and I am not okay.
> 
> But! here's a chapter! that I probably should've completed at the end of last month, but vacation kind of kept me from doing that. So I hope that's still alright.
> 
> (also, it's a little ways off, but know that I will be doing a chapter for the musical crossover episode!)

When Querl woke up, he thought he was still dreaming.

He still wasn’t wearing his image inducer, he realized, but that didn’t matter- the woman lying beside him loved him for who he was, alien appearance or not. They were illuminated by the soft morning light coming through Kara’s windows, and when he turned over to his other side, she was there with her eyes open, looking at him lovingly.

For he was in her bed, her white and green and blue comforter draped over them both, and neither of them were completely wearing their pajamas.

“Kara.” He said, smiling at her. She ran a hand through his hair, before kissing his cheek.

“Good morning to you too.” Kara answered. “Your hair looks really cute when it’s messy, you know.”

“Then I will try to have it like this more often.” Querl said.

(He didn’t think messy hair could be cute, and being who he was, he was often held to a higher standard where his appearance was concerned- meaning that he had to look immaculate in all areas of his grooming, including his hair, and any deviation or deterioration was usually a sign that he was working long hours, or otherwise neglecting his needs in favor of professional concerns. He would have been concerned… but now, with her, he was starting to see things differently. She was giving him a reason to relax, and work while still taking care of himself, and he now allowed himself to be more vulnerable around her.

To wake up with messy hair, and not be afraid of what it meant for him or what he was doing)

“You don’t have to do anything.” She said.

Querl relaxed, and kissed her forehead.

“Then I will not.” He answered. “Thank you. I… trust that our night together was good?”

“It was. _You_ were.” Kara said. “Thank you, Querl. I felt so good this morning that I could’ve… I don’t know, pulled a tanker or helped deliver a litter of puppies, or stopped a bunch of armed robberies- or even just gotten coffee and flowers for us.”

“You can still do all of those things.” Querl answered. “I can wait for you.”

“Yeah, and I wanted to wait until you woke up.” Kara said. “I mean… for a long time, before I came to Earth, I was stuck. I didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t.”

Querl took her hands, and gently held them, as she continued.

“And sometimes, even now, I still feel like that. Dreams blend into reality… and waking up to see one of the most handsome men I’ve ever met next to me felt too good to be true. But it was real, and you’re real, and I’m so happy that you’re here.”

“As am I.” Querl said. “And I will always listen, to whatever you want to say.”

_And I would be happy to wake up beside you for the rest of my life._

He gradually let go of her hands, then, as she got up- and before he knew it, she was in her Supergirl suit, off to save the world in the way she knew how- or at least save the morning- and then she was back, carrying a small tray of coffees from Noonan’s and a bouquet of roses.

Querl put the bouquet into a vase, and after Kara changed into civilian clothes, she hugged him, as his arms went around her, and they kissed again.

“Sure is nice to do that without breaking the person’s nose.” Kara said, whispering the words into his mouth.

Querl pulled away, just a little.

“How many times has that happened?”

“Less than… five.” Kara admitted sheepishly. 

“So, four? Exactly four times?” he asked, as Kara laughed, leaning on him for a moment before they kissed again.

“Maybe.” She said. “But… I’ll tell you about that later, because we have to be at work in 20 minutes.”

“Yes.” Querl answered. “We do.”

“And speaking of which, could we keep this… quiet?” Kara asked. “I want people to know, it’s just…”

_I don’t want this to end up like what happened with James. I won’t let it._

“For now.” She clarified. “The last time I liked someone, everyone in my life watched, and commented on it, and I just really don’t want that to happen to us.”

_Trust me, I understand that._

“So, there is an “us”?” Querl asked.

“Yeah.” Kara said, smiling at him as she held him again.

“I like that.”

They kissed again, and Querl knew he would never get tired of such a sensation.

“Of course we can keep it quiet.” He said.

_I wouldn’t dream of doing otherwise to you._

~  
And he didn’t. But it was very difficult, later that day when they were in the DEO together, not to walk up to J’onn and Alex and announce that he and Kara were dating. He wanted for the two of them to be holding hands, wanted to kiss her in public, anything to remind him that this relationship was a real and tangible thing. Kara Zor-El had chosen him, he had chosen her, they had strong feelings for one another and nothing- not even having to fill out forms from the DEO’s HR department and having to attend seminars, as he was sure they’d have to do once they told J’onn and Alex- would hinder that.

However, Querl also knew that he likely would not be telling James about the nature of his and Kara’s new relationship. He and Winn seemed to be together now, and were quite happy with each other, but it just seemed insensitive to tell him on his own, without Kara there. He could have told Maggie and Lena, but he didn’t know them well enough, and Eve… well, she seemed like someone he couldn’t tell any sensitive information to, no matter what it was.

Winn, though… he was a safe option, as long as Kara let her tell him. He was in a new relationship himself, and might share in the excitement Querl admitted he was feeling at the moment. He was a friend of Kara’s, and had been working with Querl long enough that he felt that they knew each other better than he and some of Kara’s other friends. And Querl wasn’t sure about how well Winn could keep a secret, but he had kept James’s long enough, so what was one more?

But again, he couldn’t tell him yet. So Querl only kept his and Kara’s relationship “close to the vest”, so to speak, and with that human phrase in mind he imagined such knowledge was held in concentrated form, beating in time with his heart.

“Holy Cadmus crème egg.” Winn said, just as Querl had been thinking about him, and pulled something up on the monitors.

“Cadmus? But they’ve been dark since Lillian broke out of prison.”

“Ah, but they are back and with a vengeance.” Winn continued, zeroing in closer on the footage he had. “We got a convoy coming out from one of their suspected weapon storage facilities.”

“Tell Alex and Querl to set up a backup team.” Kara said, not thinking about the fact that she’d just used Brainy’s real name.

(The name that she’d had on her mind ever since the time they’d shared last night, that she’d gasped almost into his mouth, that she thought suited him far better than his title did)

(She didn’t know whether or not Winn would read too much into it, but she sure hoped not. As happy as she was, the idea of revealing a new relationship so soon was still daunting, and no less scary- and it would’ve been even if she wasn’t Supergirl.)

“You’re going alone?”

“No, I’m taking the other fly guy.” Kara answered, already on her way out.

“Teamwork makes the dream work!” Winn shouted after her, and if Kara looked behind her, she’d probably see him doing finger guns, or perhaps a double thumbs-up.

But right then, she was focused, and her focus led her and J’onn to the Cadmus trucks, to an area near a Lord Technologies active test range.

Where, after not being able to see inside the main truck initially, and being shot at from several of the vans surrounding the truck, Kara Danvers finally found her adoptive father again.

~

Querl, wanting to leave the Danvers sisters to their family reunion in the DEO medbay (as Alex took care of Jeremiah, checking to see how much Cadmus had really done to him) got a briefing of the situation from Winn, who had the courtesy to wait with him outside.

According to him, Jeremiah had been lost in the Amazon rainforest, and woken up in Cadmus, where he had personally been forced to turn Hank Henshaw into the being known as the Cyborg-Superman. He had been made to stay there precisely because he’d apparently done such a good job enhancing Henshaw, and though he had tried to escape, each attempt was unsuccessful. But he saw his confinement as a good thing- through it, he was able to keep his daughters safe.

“I came as soon as I heard.” Querl said, entering after he thought it appropriate to do so.

“Brainiac 5 of Colu.” Jeremiah said. “We meet again.”

“I’m glad you are unharmed.” Querl answered- though a scan revealed that he, too, had been enhanced below the surface. “I was worried that, after you let us out, Cadmus would-“

“Imprison and torture me for betraying them? Well, you’d be right.”

Kara, beside Querl, looked just as worried as Querl had felt- and was now sad for him, closing her eyes and letting her head drop down in a mournful pose.

“Dad, the, uh… the damage to your hand, it’s extensive.” Alex said, turning Jeremiah’s attention to her.

“It was… a punishment for helping Querl and Kara escape. But I would do it again in a heartbeat… so lucky you found me. So lucky to be back with you two.”

He smiled at his daughters, as Alex looked like she was about to cry and Kara was smiling back. The punishment and torture he spoke of showed on his face, and clearly it was difficult for both sisters to handle, as happy as they were to have their father back.

But Jeremiah’s words triggered a thought process, in Querl’s mind, as he considered the scans he’d ran of Jeremiah’s body, just how easy it had seemed for Kara and J’onn to get him off of the transport- and for that matter, how easy it had been for them to find said transport in the first place, how Cadmus- if he was indeed one of their valuable assets, predisposition for betrayal aside- hadn’t seemed to fight for his return…

“It’s more than luck.” He concluded, and it wasn’t until J’onn stared at him, with the others following suit, that he realized he’d said it out loud.

“What do you mean?” J’onn asked, standing up.

“We received an alert that Cadmus was moving a weapon, we do not get alerts unless they’re releasing a video or we catch them red-handed, as the saying goes.” Querl answered.

“But we did catch them red-handed.” Kara said.

“Yes, but they meant for us to see them- waving said metaphorical red hands in the air.” He answered. “Literally, as though they did not care.”

Kara looked surprised, but Jeremiah spoke next.

“Querl’s right. You need to keep your guard up, because Cadmus does have a weapon.”

“What is it?”

“A nuclear fusion bomb.” Said Jeremiah, hesitating before the third word.

The others exchanged worried looks, before he continued.

“They’re gonna destroy National City.” He said. “And blame it on hostile aliens.”

“How did Cadmus get their hands on it?” asked Kara.

“No, they didn’t steal it. They built it.” Jeremiah answered. “Using the radiation they mined from your heat vision when you were in their custody.”  
Querl placed a hand on Kara’s shoulder, and J’onn and Alex quickly followed, as if to say: _This is not your fault. You are not to blame for what they will try to do with this weapon. You do not need to burden yourself with guilt over their stealing your energy that you put to good use every day. You are still good._

“Oh my god.” Kara murmured.

~  
“So, what you’re telling me is that Jeremiah Danvers, former DEO agent and Kara and Alex’s long-lost father, has returned from Cadmus custody with the news that our enemy has developed a nuclear fusion explosive using Kara’s otherworldly heat vision radiation, and that they’re going to drop that on National City and just kill us all?” Winn asked, facing the others while sitting in his chair and giving them the falsest smile that Querl had ever seen, although perhaps that was the point. He clapped his hands together. “Ha!”

But he quickly grew more serious, realizing what he’d just summarized.

“Is- is this- is this place bombproof?”

J’onn looked at him as though he were a disappointed father, reacting to his son asking him if he could play football indoors.

“You could run a trace on Kara’s heat vision radiation signature.” Jeremiah pointed out.

“Yeah! Right! Well, if the bomb was armed, then yes I might be able to pinpoint its location before it goes off.”

“Good. Get to work, Winn.” J’onn said.

“Jeremiah!”

His face lit up, as Eliza Danvers made her entrance, and Alex looked back at Kara with an expression Querl couldn’t place as Jeremiah said _“Eliza!”_ and rushed over to her, and the two embraced one another.

“Oh, my God, did I miss you.” Jeremiah said.

Kara was audibly excited, watching their reunion, but Alex was more hesitant- although she was just as happy as her sister.

“Kara, may I speak with you?” Querl asked.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

They walked over into a side corridor, as Querl explained himself.

“Kara, I am just as happy as you are to see your father back.” He said. “However, I was there when we were in captivity together, and I watched you solar-flare… and it did not look like they were trying to capture your heat vision. Rather, it looked more like they wanted you to expend your energy, so they could cause you more pain.”  
“Brainy…” she started. But as many excuses as she had- _you don’t know how that works, this is a twenty-first century device so you don’t understand it as well as stuff you have in the future, maybe I just want to enjoy my adoptive father being back for a little while before we start accusing him of anything_ \- she had to admit to herself that Querl was a scientist, he did know what he was talking about… and perhaps he was even familiar with similar devices himself. “Querl. I understand your concerns. But for right now, I’m trusting Jeremiah. He’s always protected me at great cost, and he protected you too. Maybe give him the benefit of the doubt?”

“He lived with your enemy for years. They forced him to keep Henshaw alive, what makes you think that they’re not forcing Jeremiah to do something at this moment?”

Kara squeezed his hand, maybe a little more forcefully than she would’ve.

“I know you’re just trying to look out for us.” She said.

_And maybe, as a Brainiac, you expect deceit from those around you._

“For me.” She continued. “But he needs us right now. Please.”

Querl sighed, filing away the scans he’d made and the rest of his evidence. If trust in Jeremiah based on lived experience with knowing his character was good enough for Kara… it could, with time, be good enough for him.

It had been good enough for Superman, when Querl was the one to be suspicious of. Surely he could return the favor with Kara’s father.

“Okay.” He said. “Alright.”

Kara smiled, and hugged him.

“Thank you.” She said. “We’re having a family dinner to celebrate his return. You’re welcome to get to know him, spend time with him, and you’ll see that there’s nothing to be afraid of. At all. Jeremiah’s return isn’t an accidental gift, it’s just a gift, and we should be happy about it.”

Querl nodded.

_I am. For now, at least._

~  
Kara opened the door to Querl, holding two beverages in his hands.

“This one is for myself.” He said, indicating one of them. “And this is for the rest of you.”

He gave that one to Kara, who smiled at him, the tension between them over Jeremiah’s return now lessened- especially evidenced by the kiss Kara gave him when she closed the door.

“Was I supposed to wear a tie?” he asked.

“No.” Kara said, as he moved on to see Jeremiah, now looking decidedly healthier, as well as Eliza.

“Doctor Danvers! And Doctor Danvers.” He said, indicating both of them. 

“Eliza, Jeremiah, this is… my boyfriend, Querl.” Kara said. “We just really started dating, but… we’re really happy together.”

“Good to hear.” Eliza said, as Jeremiah looked up from slicing limes in half to smile at them. “He’s such a sweet boy.”

Querl nodded, still somewhat getting used to Kara’s usage of that word (as neither of them had used such terms as boyfriend and girlfriend to apply to each other yet- but he was nonetheless happy beyond words to hear her use it, even though there were quite a few others over the years who’d also done so when in relationships with him), as Kara walked with him towards the couches, where Alex and Maggie were sitting.

~  
J’onn entered just as Jeremiah was starting to pour drinks for everyone, and Jeremiah wasted no time in giving him a hug, thanking him for saving his life again and for keeping his promise to watch over Kara and Alex.

“It was an honor.” J’onn said, and Kara raised her glass.

“A toast. To coming home.” She said, and the rest echoed it, clinking their glasses against one another’s, before drinking.

“Now obviously, this is going to be a time of adjustment.” Jeremiah said. “But I hope you’ll all be patient with me. I’ve seen and done things I wish I hadn’t…”

Kara gave Querl a look that she hoped everyone else didn’t catch before turning her attention back on Jeremiah.

“Dad.” Alex said, eyes shining with empathy for him. _“Don’t.”_

“Sweetie, if I’m gonna move forward, I can’t ignore my past.” He said, as Eliza began to gently rub his back. “Cadmus… changed me, they tried to break me, and in the process they made me dangerous. I know their weaknesses, and I’m here to work with all of you to make our planet safer.”

_That’s just what he wants you to think._

_But I’m trusting Kara. And if she’s taking his words at face value, then I should, too._

So he hushed his doubts, and took a sip of his drink- which, he had to commend the Danvers parents for, was excellently prepared.

“So, if you’ll have me, Director, I would like to return to the DEO.” Jeremiah said, turning to J’onn. “Formally.”

“J’onn?” Kara said. “Can he?”

“Pending a full psych evaluation, and a field readiness exam, I’ll give you the tour tomorrow.” J’onn said, just as happy to have his friend back.

“Thank you, friend.” Jeremiah answered, placing a hand on his arm.

“Maybe you should say something nice to him.” Kara whispered to Querl.

“I’m glad you’re returning, sir.” Querl said. “I… understand the plight you’ve been through, and I offer my condolences, and my sympathies.”

“Thank you.” Jeremiah answered, as Querl could see he wasn’t sure how to respond.

“It is fortunate, that you returned when you did, to help us with stopping this new weapon you’ve given us knowledge of.”

“You mean when he was _rescued.”_ Alex said, insistently.

“Right. That.” He answered. “It’s a gift. Truly.”

“Querl?” Kara said, pulling him aside after he quieted himself again. “What would you do, if your father walked through that door?”

“I… don’t know.” Querl said. “I never met him.”

_But he must have been someone my mother deemed worthy of having intercourse with. So at the very least, based on that point I would not welcome him with open arms._

“Suppose you had. Suppose he’d raised you, and you trusted him, but he disappeared from your life at a young age, but now after so many years, he just came back in and wanted to be your father again. Would you deny him that?”

“I would have to know he were telling the truth.”

“Okay. Well, in this case, we have reason to believe that Jeremiah is, and if this were your father- even though I don’t know a thing about him- I think I’d feel the same that you are about this situation.” Kara answered. “So, would you like to come back to dinner, or not?”

Querl considered leaving, to make certain he didn’t say something that would cause Jeremiah discomfort. But then again, Kara wanted him to be hopeful about this. She trusted him to be private about their dating situation, and he’d kept that privacy. He would honor her request once again now, despite anything about this that was still bothering him.

“I am sorry.” He said. “I would love to.”

Kara smiled, and they went to sit down, the mood considerably lighter.  
~  
“Hey.” Winn said, sitting down next to Querl at the bar.

“For you.” Querl answered, passing him a drink. “Perfect timing, thanks for coming.”

They clinked their drinks together, before starting in on them.

“Always happy to grab a drink, but you do realize that we’re, like, kinda in an all-hands-on-deck situation right now, trying to track down that fusion… b-o-m-b?”

“Very discreet.” Querl noted.

“Uh, speaking of. What’s so top-secret that you can’t talk to me about it at the DEO, yeah?”

“It’s… Jeremiah’s return.” He said. “I am trying my best to be hopeful about this situation, for Kara. But...”

“I get it, man. You’re worried about her and Alex. And trust me, if it were my mom, I’d have my doubts too.” Winn answered.

“Right.” Querl said, noting to ask Winn more about his own family at a later time. “My point is, what if Cadmus allowed us to rescue Jeremiah so he could sabotage us? Just when this doomsday bomb is about to be detonated? Just consider it.”

Winn sighed.

“You really think so?”

“I would not lie to you. We have never been this lucky- not to mention that the DEO has not been able to locate Jeremiah for 11 years, but now he just resurfaces?”

“So you think Jeremiah is…”

Querl could think of countless ways to finish that sentence, but he opted for saying, “He is just… someone we need to be cautious around. At least until we know exactly what he’s been doing for those past eleven years.”

Winn sat back, taking a long sip of his drink.

“Well, far be it from me to argue with a Brainiac.” He said. “I mean, if you think he’s suspicious, I’ll help you.”

“Thank you.” Querl answered, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You’re a true friend, Winn.”

“Pfft. I know.”

“You realize now that you owe me a favor in return?”

“Of course. Anything.”

Winn’s face grew somber as he answered, “I know how much you like Kara. I mean, even for someone who isn’t a twelfth-level intellect, it’s pretty obvious.”

Querl sighed.

“Yes- you are correct.” He said. “What is your favor?”

“Just be good to her.”

“I would rather die than do otherwise.”

Winn gave him a sad smile, squeezing his shoulder, and he looked like he was going to say something else. But James entered, then, getting an update from Winn on when they would go on their next patrol, information Winn gave to him easily. And when he’d gotten that information, Winn kissed James, lingering for a little bit before pulling away.

Querl didn’t comment, only happy for the two of them, just as he had been for Alex and Maggie.

James left, while Querl watched Winn’s soft, love-struck eyes follow him out.

“And you be good to him.” Querl said, as Winn nodded and they clinked their drinks again.

~

“Winn? Brainy, you wanted to see me?”

Kara closed the door behind her, knowing what she was in for.

“Yes. Winn found something, and we only thought you should know about it- presenting this objectively, for you to take or leave as you wish.” Querl answered.

“Okay. What is it?” Kara asked, letting herself trust her boyfriend- just as she’d asked him to trust her- and her best friend, even though she still hoped that Jeremiah wasn’t in the wrong.

“So, earlier today, J’onn was giving Jeremiah a tour of the facility, right?” Winn started. “But when J’onn stepped away, I saw Jeremiah trying to break into the DEO mainframe.”

“Are you sure?” Kara asked. “Wait, were you spying on Jeremiah?”

“I was in the right place at the right time.” Winn said.

“Well, do you know he was breaking in? J’onn could’ve given him access- you don’t know what he was doing, or what he was looking up.”

“I can access that- link to the computer, find what he was searching for.” Querl pointed out.

“Alright.” Kara said. “Do it.”

 _Jeremiah is spying on us,_ Winn thought. _Probably. We might as well return the favor._

~  
“Hey, Jeremiah, can we talk for a minute?”

“Sure, what’s up?” he asked, as Kara walked back into the command center, Querl and Winn behind her.

“Is everything okay?” Alex said.

“Earlier today, you accessed highly classified files from the DEO mainframe.” Kara said, turning to Jeremiah.

“That’s true, I did.”

“Why?”

“I tried to use my old passkey to look at some casefiles.” He said, even though Querl had looked at those casefiles himself once he’d gotten a DEO identification, and the information didn’t match up. All the while, Jeremiah’s left arm was positioned as though he was wearing a cast on it, and although that wasn’t entirely relevant to the situation at hand, Querl could tell that said arm was cybernetic below the surface. “But the access codes have changed, so I did a workaround to get inside.”

“What were you looking at?”

“Casefiles. From the last 16 months.” Jeremiah said. “I wanted to see what my daughters had been up to. Crises that you faced, people that you saved, adventures you’d been on… I’ve been away, so long, case histories were just a way for me to feel like I was there, a little. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.” Kara said. “Brainy?”

“He is… telling the truth.” Querl answered. “I do not see any record otherwise.”

“Alright. Back to work.” J’onn said. “That includes you, Agent Danvers- Jeremiah, and Alex.”

Alex nodded, in satisfaction, leading her father away before the rest of the group dispersed as well.

~

Querl found Winn at the alien bar again, while Winn was in the middle of a darts game with James.

“Hey, Brainy.” James said, before Winn went to talk to Brainy alone.

“That was impressive.” Querl noted, gesturing to Winn’s dart- not near the center of the board, but still on it nonetheless, which was still good especially if he was drunk.

“Yeah, last time I tried to play darts, I stabbed fish-head dude over there.” Winn said, lowering his voice. “I think his name is Brian? He was nice about it, but I think he might still have a grudge on me.”

“Doesn’t seem like him.” Querl answered. “The grudge-holding, that is. But I meant that I’m happy for you two.”

“And I hope I’ll be happy for you and Kara, once we get this Jeremiah thing sorted out.” Winn said. “It’s just…”

“The situation is complicated. And it is truly for Kara and Alex to sort out for themselves, is it not?”

“Like with everything, you’re right.” Winn said. “And maybe we could both listen to them.”

Winn’s phone pinged, then, and he pulled it out, looking at the notification.

“Well, apparently at least I did something right.” He continued, stabbing a dart into the board for emphasis. “Because I tracked Supergirl’s radiation signature. Cadmus is moving the fusion bomb.”

~

Querl, Alex, and Kara, suited up and prepared to face Cadmus, were in the building where the fusion bomb was supposed to be located… but they saw nothing. No bomb, no Cadmus agents…

“J’onn, please advise, there’s no sign of target.” Alex said. “I repeat, there’s no sign of target, there’s nothing here.”

“What’s going on?” J’onn asked, voice low. “Why can’t I read your mind?”

 _He’s addressing Jeremiah,_ Querl thought.

“Dad?” Alex asked, but there was no response.

“We have to get back. Now.” Kara said, and Alex and Querl agreed.

“Let’s move!” Alex ordered, as the others followed her.

~  
When they finally got back, it was to the sight of J’onn healing from his injuries- what they were was anyone’s guess- and no Jeremiah. Winn was sitting at J’onn’s bedside, keeping watch over him, as someone was tending to his injuries too.

“Is he okay?” Alex asked, briefly placing her hand on Winn’s shoulder as she passed him.

“Yeah, he will be.” Winn said. “Look, Jeremiah got the jump on him.”

“He couldn’t have.” Alex insisted, still protective of her father. “Okay, look, even if my dad has turned, there’s no way that he could’ve overpowered J’onn.”

“Yeah, that’s what I would have thought.” J’onn said.

Kara sighed with relief, happy to hear him speak.

“Oh, thank Rao you’re okay.” She said.

“Jeremiah’s arm- the one we thought had nerve damage- it’s been enhanced. Cybernetically.”

“I’m aware.” Querl answered. “He is like the other Hank Henshaw- a Cyborg-Superman, an empowered human in service of Cadmus’s ideals.”

“Jeremiah isn’t who he was.” J’onn continued, turning to Alex. “I’m sorry.”

“Not as sorry as Cadmus is going to be.” Alex said.

“We’ll find him.” Kara answered, backing up her sister once more. “Brainy? Winn?”

“Yes. We can track him.”

~

Afterwards, Querl knocked on Kara’s apartment door.

“It’s unlocked.” She called, sounding disheartened.

He entered, setting the pizza and potstickers he’d picked up on the way onto Kara’s kitchen table.

“You’re not alright.”

“No.” Kara confirmed.

“I apologize.” Querl said, walking over to her. “I… am aware that I was right… but that is insensitive. What I mean to say is that I did not _want_ to be right. I hoped, just as you did, that Jeremiah was not a true agent of Cadmus.”

“I know.”

“And… I am here.” He continued. “Tell me what you need. Anything, and I will listen.”

Kara sat up, dislodging the blue blanket she'd covered herself in.

“Just be here with me.” She answered, and wrapped the blanket around both of them as she let herself be held in his arms, and he hoped he was doing his best to soothe her.

“Do you need anything else?” he asked, as she wrapped her arms around him as well.

“Will you wake up with me?” Kara asked in a small voice.

“I’d love to.” He said as he kissed her forehead, and she gently stroked his face in appreciation of that promise.

Kara’s phone rang, then, and she sat up completely, answering it.

“Winn. Did you figure out what Jeremiah stole from the DEO computers?”

“Brainy and I both did, and it’s not good, Kara.” Winn answered. Kara could hear him breathing heavily. “He took the national alien registry.”

“Okay. I’m coming in.” Kara said, hanging up.

“Cadmus has a list of all the aliens in the country.” Querl said.

“And we’re getting up.”

Kara did just that, with Querl right behind her.

_I would go with you anywhere, for any purpose. Especially for something as important as this._


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so! last chapter of the year, that's exciting (even if it isn't as long as most of the previous ones have been, but I promise that the next few are definitely going to be very interesting and much longer, and I look forward to tackling them)
> 
> also, it's December 29th on the East Coast, but I think on AO3 it'll show up as being December 30th when I post this- which just so happens to be Brainy's canonical birthday! I know it's probably out of continuity now because it's from a 1976 DC calendar, but I still like it and want it to be canon anyway.
> 
> (I may or may not post an actual birthday fic tomorrow, we'll see)

“That’s the twentieth abduction since Cadmus got the alien registry.” Said Kara, watching the footage from that very day before starting to pace around the command center. Alex, J’onn, Winn, and Querl watched both the footage and Kara herself.

“And they’re escalating. Getting more aggressive.” J’onn noted- as in that very video, a family of three had only seemingly committed the crime of being aliens and hiding their true appearances, which was enough to get them abducted. The father of the family was tricked into leaving the car first, with his wife and daughter following suit- the latter of the three trying to escape first, but she could only get so far before all three of them were thrown into the truck. “We any closer to finding out where Cadmus is taking them?”

“Or what they want?” Querl asked. “That is the true question in this case. Some might even say it is the million-dollar question.”

“No, on all accounts.” Winn said. “Although, good use of that phrase. Brainy and I have monitored traffic cams, satellite feeds, cell phone chatter… maybe Jeremiah taught them how to avoid our radar?”

The group tensed up at the mention of Jeremiah’s name, as J’onn couldn’t even look any of them in the eye.

“From now on, Jeremiah Danvers is an enemy combatant.” He said. “If found, he’s to be arrested on sight. That’s not a problem, is it?”

The last comment was decidedly pointed, and both Kara and Alex looked at him, likely considering that very situation.

“Of course not.” Alex said.

“Good.”

“Well, we have to let all these aliens know. They need to be able to protect themselves.” Kara said.

“If I may.” Querl said, standing up. For unlike Jeremiah, perhaps, he had been attempting to learn as much as he could about Kara and Alex, and their teamwork- something that, honestly, he envied. Though he had a team of his own… sometimes it felt as though, in the thirty-first century, he lacked a family, which was being made up for in this time. And it was largely thanks to the people around him, even if getting to this stage was a process.

“Go on.”

“Perhaps you could record a video, as Supergirl, telling these aliens what is happening and to have hope, for you are working on helping them?” he suggested. “And I could attempt to spread the word, as it were, myself through electronic messaging- provided we still have the information from the alien registry.”

“That sounds great, Brainy.” Kara said.

“Yes, but whatever computer you use has to be outside of the DEO. We can’t compromise it- we’re off the books for a reason.” J’onn answered.

“Very well, I can do it anonymously.” Querl said. “Winn?”

“Of course. My computer is yours.”

“Good. And, to make sure we’re covering all our bases, we can use Catco too.” Kara continued. “I’ll write an article, see if I can get it on the front page.”

“Do you think Snapper would run that?” Alex asked.

“Yes, he seems quite… cantankerous.” Querl noted. “And that is an understatement. It would be wise to have a back-up plan, in case he vetoes such an article, or its position.”

“And to make sure that you have sources other than Supergirl. This has to be credible, otherwise nobody’s going to take you seriously.” Alex said. “I know hope is what you do best, but Cadmus is operating on fear- using the tension in the wake of the Alien Amnesty Act for their own purposes. You have to make sure you let people remember that too, as well as how to fight back against it on their own.”

Kara sighed.

“Okay.” She said, albeit no less hopeful. “But he’s going to run that article. You’ll see.”

She left with a flourish of her cape, and Querl soon followed.

~

But as Querl later overheard, Snapper declined- insisting that he wasn’t going to publish any conspiracy theories or incite panic. Kara instead offered for him to interview Supergirl as an exclusive, which didn’t change his mind but certainly (according to Kara) may have helped.

Meanwhile, the situation with Cadmus only got worse, as Winn and Alex returned to the DEO looking despondent and downcast. Apparently, Cadmus had attacked the alien dive bar, abducting its alien patrons- including a woman from Starhaven that Winn had become friends with.

And because of this (even though the two of them, in addition to Maggie and James had done their best), they were understandably worried about those who’d been captured.

“I should’ve gotten there sooner; I mean if these guys hadn’t come in then I would’ve- _uuuuugh!”_ Winn ran his hands down his face, grunting in frustration.

“We’ll get them all back, Winn.” Alex said.

“You don’t know that, okay? We don’t know anything, alright?” Winn raised his voice, making sure everyone around him heard. All Querl wanted was to give him hope, and to say what Kara would have said… but it seemed out of place at that moment. So he allowed Winn to be frustrated.

“Hank, are you sure we can’t get anything from this guy?” James asked, referring to the unconscious Cadmus agent currently in a DEO holding cell.

J’onn shook his head.

“Cadmus must’ve found a way to shield his thoughts from me.” He said.

_Just like Jeremiah._

“But we will find something, Winn. We always do.”

“Everything I’ve tried, it’s led to nothing, and if I fail- if anyone gets hurt- your father, I’m sorry, but-“

Winn was frustrated enough, upset enough at the thought of people suffering because of his negligence, his failing at that time that it was boiling over, making him point at Alex.

“Agent Schott!”

That was enough to calm him down.

“Winn. I will help look for everyone with you.” Querl said. “This wrath against Cadmus will do nothing for our productivity. What the missing aliens need is our diligence- though they may not know it, they are counting on us, just as much as they are counting on Supergirl.”

Winn sighed, and followed him over to the computers, as in his peripheral vision Querl watched Alex go downstairs.

~  
After helping Kara set up her interview with Snapper as Supergirl, and making sure everything had gone smoothly (even if Snapper still wouldn’t publish the article- though there had been a large chance of that after the interview was finished, given how little information Kara could reveal about her true source), Querl got a call from Alex.

“Brainy? It’s me.” She said, voice sounding drained. Of what, Querl wasn’t sure, but he felt bad for her, and knew he would do anything to make sure she could get back to being her best. “I… need a favor.”

“Of course.” Querl answered.

“I, um… J’onn suspended me from the DEO, while this whole Jeremiah thing is going on.”

“Ah. A personal matter, I understand- and I do not blame you.”

“But I still want to get into Cadmus- I can’t do it without your help, though. Can you get me what I need, and stay on comms with me just in case?”

“You only need to tell me what you require, and I will get it for you.” He said.

“Great.” Alex answered, grateful that he wasn’t judging her for the suspension. “Thanks.”

She listed off the items, and the next time they met up, Querl gave them to her, smiling as she took the alien gun she'd lent to her girlfriend from Maggie and slung the backpack over her shoulders.

~  
Alex activated her comm unit after she located Cadmus, entering in with little resistance at first. There were two guards stationed near where she entered, but she fought them off well- at least, before she was surrounded.

Unfortunately for her, one of the people who met her there was Jeremiah himself.

“She’s with me.” Jeremiah said, and though she wanted very badly to shoot him, even if it wasn’t in a fatal place, he was still her father. There was still a chance for him, no matter how small.

So Jeremiah confiscated her backpack, leading her to where everything was happening. She could see schematics for what looked like a ship, and Cadmus agents stationed all around her, making it so she’d have to plan out an escape carefully.

“You shouldn’t have come after me, Alex.” Jeremiah said. “You could’ve been killed.”

“What the hell is that?” Alex asked, about the ship. There were several screens showing it, and if she had any money on her, she’d bet that that was where the missing aliens were being held.

“It’s a Hoshin frigate, the best in the Kazark fleet. As soon as it breaches atmosphere, it’s gonna jump to light speed and go to Takron-Galtos.” Querl heard Jeremiah tell Alex, confirming the hypothesis both of them held. “They’ll find passage home from there.”

“Takron-Galtos? Oh dear. That is far from what he describes- it’s a prison planet, Alex. You need to make sure that ship doesn’t take off.”

“I got it.” Alex said, and then to Jeremiah, “Lillian is sending them back?”

“It was my idea.” Jeremiah answered.

“I don’t understand.”

“Lillian was going to _kill_ them all.”

“You are forcibly deporting them.” Alex shot back. “And some of them have escaped famine, poverty, genocide…”

“At least, this way they have a chance.” Jeremiah said.

Querl couldn’t imagine how distraught Alex was feeling, as she answered, “It was all a lie.”

(though… that wasn’t entirely true. But he didn’t know her specific situation, even if he could relate to it.)

“No.”

“No, everything that you told me in the woods. You said that you were working for Cadmus for me.”

“And I am.” Jeremiah insisted. “But from the moment Cadmus took me prisoner, they told me they were gonna kill you and Kara unless I did what they said.”

 _Do I really believe you?_ Alex thought. _Or is this just another in your long string of lies, to cover up that you actually like hurting people now? That you’re more than just a prisoner of Cadmus?_

“I made my choice.” Jeremiah continued. “Protect my girls at all costs.”

“How could you think that we would want you to hurt others?” Alex asked him. “To protect us?”

_Because in case you haven’t noticed, you haven’t been there to protect us for eleven years, while Kara and I are practically in the business of protecting each other._

“…There are some things that you will never understand until you’re a parent.” Was Jeremiah’s only answer.

_Well, I’m sorry, but when I’m a mother, I promise to be better at it than you’ve been as a father so far._

“Do you think Mom would understand this?” Alex asked, turning around to face him as Jeremiah was about to leave her.

“I can only hope that someday, she will.” Jeremiah said, which wasn’t really an answer at all.

 _I need to tell Kara about this,_ Querl thought.  
~

The next time Querl saw Kara after giving her the information he’d learned from Alex, entering her apartment with a tray of coffees and a bag of pastries for her, she was already at her laptop, typing something out.

“Kara.” He said. “I apologize, I know you are busy, but… I thought you could use the energy- we have coffee in the thirty-first century as well, and it serves the same purpose as it does in this time. I suppose some things really do never change, now or in a thousand years. That, and I remembered your coffee order- so I thought to put it to use.”

“That’s really sweet, Brainy, but I’m trying to figure out whether or not I should post this article.” Kara answered.

“About the missing aliens?”

“Yeah.” She said.

_I can’t let them end up like me, out there, scared, alone. I won’t let this planet be another Krypton._

“You know what happens if you blog it.” Querl answered.

Kara took one of the coffees he’d set down next to her computer, taking a long sip of it before answering him.

“I do.” She said. “But… have you ever gone through this? Faced a difficult choice, having to decide between not doing something because someone in authority would approve and doing it because you feel like you’d be betraying yourself if you didn’t?”

Querl sat down at her table, taking a coffee of his own.

“Of course I have.” He said. “There have been many times where I have experienced such a phenomenon- and there are many ways I would describe it. Having to choose between following your heart and your orders, emotions and logic, your “gut” and your mind… but nonetheless, the truth of the matter is clear. You do not need to base your actions on what others have done, or let them decide for you. What’s important is what you think, and whether or not the action in question is the right thing to do.”

Kara sighed, trying to smile. He really was doing his best to help her, giving her wise advice… not to mention how cute he looked in casual clothes, with his hair slightly messy like it had been during their first morning together.

_No wonder why I like him so much._

“Yeah, it’s the right thing.”

“Then publish it.” Querl said.

“But how can you be so sure?”

“As I said, I have been through similar situations, even though I was not a reporter. But this is not my decision- and though I also know many good people in my time and this one, you are the most moral person I know. So if you think it is the right thing, then it is, and no matter what the outcome is, I will support you in it.”

Kara took his hand, squeezing it just enough to not hurt him, and pushed the button that would publish her article with the other.

“There.” She said. “I did it.”

“And I look forward to reading it.” Querl answered, as she kissed his cheek.

He started making dinner after that, although he was interrupted almost immediately, as Kara got a call from Lena.

~  
“Please, Dad, it’s not too late!” Querl heard Alex plea.

“I’m afraid it is, Agent Danvers.” Lillian interrupted. “Get to your launch stations!”

He wasn’t able to hear what Lillian was starting to do next, but Kara soon returned from L-Corp, after having saved Lena.

“I know where Cadmus is.” She said.

“And whenever they launch the ship containing the missing aliens, it will be heading directly towards a prison planet.” Querl finished, as he overheard Alex threatening Lillian, standing her ground even when outnumbered, which only made him admire her more.

“Wow. That’s low even for Lillian.” Kara answered. “But we can stop the ship, right?”

“If the Cadmus building stays intact long enough for that to be necessary, yes I believe so.” Querl said. “Your sister is planning to blow it up if Lillian Luthor does not stop the launch. But Lillian, in return, is threatening Jeremiah… Alex is trying to convince him to turn against Lillian. I only wish I could see this conflict in person, from the sound alone it seems like fascinating drama.”

“Yeah, well, it’s real life and my sister and my adoptive father are in danger. What’s going on now?”

“Jeremiah has turned against Lillian, and Alex is threatening her once again. But Lillian is saying that there is no override code for the launch, so Alex just set off some of the bombs she planted… she’s going to try and stop the launch from the inside, while Jeremiah attempts to hack it from where he is.”

“Which means we’re up.” Kara said. “Ready to fly again, Brainiac 5?”

“I am ready when you are, Supergirl.”

~

“We’re here! We can slow it down!” Kara announced, once she and Querl had gotten close enough to the frigate. J’onn and Winn were listening, attempting to help both at once.

“Supergirl.” Alex said, as Kara approached. “Winn? The screens just lit up red, what’s going on?”

“Countermeasures.” Said J’onn.

“They just registered Supergirl and Brainiac 5 as threats, and they are trying to target lock. Keep moving!”

“I can try to tap into the defense systems and shut them down.” Querl answered.

“Do that.” Winn said. “And make it fast.”

“You say that as if you don’t have confidence in me. I’m hurt.”

“No time for sarcasm, just do it!” 

_You do not need to quote slogans at me,_ Querl thought as a red laser from the underside of the frigate began to fire at Supergirl. _And this system is much less sophisticated than that of my Legion cruiser. But that only means that it is easier to disable._

He did so, right after Kara got hit by the laser fire- but she recovered quickly, as he knew she would, and flew back to the ship.

“Supergirl?”

“It’s alright, she just lost her comms.” J’onn said, as Kara pulled back to destroy the ship’s weapons with her freeze breath. After doing so, she and Querl flew towards the window of the ship, with Querl beside Kara as she and Alex faced one another.

They seemed in understanding, as Kara started to push against the trajectory that the ship was going in, and Querl soon joined in.

“In 20 seconds, this ship will be on the other side of the universe.” Winn said.

“It’s up to her now.” Alex answered, hoping that Kara understood, that she would pull through.

Which she always did. But it never hurt to hope just a little bit more, especially when she saw nothing else that she could do.

Kara and Querl struggled, against the wind and the ship, and the atmosphere, and it seemed for a moment like Querl was going to go back to Takron-Galtos- though not by his own choice.

But it was Alex who Kara ultimately drew her strength from, who decided to wholeheartedly trust her sister, and Kara placed her hands against the glass to match Alex’s, signifying that she trusted her in return.

Querl, meanwhile, pushed back with all his strength and thought of Kara- how quickly she had become the sunshine in his life, and she was his hero just as Alex was Kara’s. He’d learned so much from her, and it was no wonder that his admiration for a member of the House of El had turned to love once more.

Both Querl and Kara were screaming, as their efforts to hold the ship back exhausted them. But ultimately, they slowed it down enough that the rest of the frigate’s systems stopped working, and they were able to rest again.

~

Kara opened the door again, grateful that she was on Earth.

(mostly because, wherever the ship had been going (even though it did have rude bosses who, admittedly, were right that she should’ve followed the rules- as she would have, if it weren’t about aliens being abducted and sent into space), she doubted it had potstickers. Or a loving boyfriend who was currently holding those potstickers.)

“Still piping hot.” He noted, as Kara took the bag from him and he stepped inside with her. “Although I admit, such a phrase does not survive to the thirty-first century, so I’m not quite sure what it means.”

“You can look it up.” Kara said, after kissing him. “I don’t want to even _touch_ my laptop right now.”

“If it makes you feel any better, you may have all of the potstickers.” Querl answered, certain that, given her mood, she had been fired. “And you are going to get another job.”

“But I don’t want another job.” Kara said, placing the potstickers on the table and sitting down. “Reporting is my calling, I help people.”

“That you do.” Querl said, sitting down across from her. “And I could not be more grateful for it- your help, or Supergirl’s.”

“When I write, I don’t need a yellow sun. It’s just me. Supergirl is what I can do, Kara is who I am.” She answered. “I really loved that job.”

Querl got up from his chair, and knelt beside hers so he was looking up at her, holding her hands while he spoke.

“You have so much to offer this world.” He said. “As Kara Danvers, as Supergirl, and as Kara Zor-El. Snapper does not define your worth, and I ask that you not let him or anyone tell you differently.”

Kara took hold of his face and kissed him, pulling him towards her until she no longer needed to hold his face, and the two of them instead embraced one another fully.  
~

_Somewhere in space_

The dark ship, that had spent what seemed like eons searching the cosmos, was now closer than ever to its target as it slowly flew past the moon and towards Earth.

One of the hooded figures, who was watching space go by and calculating the time until they would arrive, took off their hood- revealing a woman with long white hair that was braided around the top of her head and circling it like a crown, dark eyes, blue skin, and three red circles arranged in an inverted triangle on her forehead.

“This is the correct place and time.” She told her companion, a man with an identical complexion and sigil. “I am sure of it.”

“Yes, time travel, as with space travel, is difficult.” He answered. “But if anyone could have done it, you would.”

The woman’s lips curled up in a smile, before two of their soldiers approached them.

“Brainiacs 4?” one said, addressing them. “We’ve reached the coordinates.”

“Finally.” Said the man.

“We’ve arrived.”

The woman placed her arm around the man, holding him tightly, as they looked down on the Earth below them.


End file.
